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The GFOA established the Popular Annual Financial Reporting Awards Program (PAFR Program) in 1991 to encourage and assist state and local governments to extract information from their annual comprehensive financial report to produce high quality popular annual financial reports specifically designed to be readily accessible and easily understandable to the general public and other interested parties without a background in public finance and then to recognize individual governments that are successful in achieving that goal.

Any type of government (general-purpose or special-purpose) at either the state or local level that makes available to the general public a popular annual financial report in either an electronic (web site, CD) or hardcopy format (separate document, newspaper insert, subsection of some larger document).

Must be received with 6 months of the end of the fiscal year.

If submitting an application through email, the fee for the PAFR Award program is $250. If submitting a hard copy PAFR, the fee is $300.

U.S. Governments that wish to participate in the PAFR program must submit:

1. Annual comprehensive financial report to the GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the current fiscal year

2. Ultimately receive the GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the current fiscal year

In Addition:

Note: The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting may not be reproduced in the PAFR.

1. The PAFR must clearly advise readers of the availability of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

2. If the PAFR contains information from only selected funds, or if the PAFR does not include all component units, that fact must be disclosed.

3. The financial information contained in the PAFR must be derived from the actual GAAP data in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

4. Some form of appropriate narrative or graphic analysis must be provided to explain items of potentially significant interest or concern.

Canadian Governments that wish to participate in the PAFR program must submit:

1. Annual comprehensive financial report to the GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the current fiscal year

2. Ultimately receive the GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the current fiscal year

In Addition:

Note: The Canadian Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting may not be reproduced in the PAFR.

1. The PAFR must clearly advise readers of the availability of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

2. If the PAFR contains information from only selected funds, or if the PAFR does not include all component units, that fact must be disclosed.

3. The financial information contained in the PAFR must be derived from the actual GAAP data in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

4. Some form of appropriate narrative or graphic analysis must be provided to explain items of potentially significant interest or concern.