PAFR volunteer judges will now receive and complete review assignments in GFOA’s Awards Management System (AMS.) Judges will access the PAFR and the judge’s checklist in the AMS. When a review assignment is made judges will receive an email with a link to a Volunteer Confirmation form.

Judges must accept or decline the review assignment within 7 days. If accepted, the judge will have three weeks to complete the review. If the review is not accepted within 7 days, it will be re-assigned to another judge.

To accept or decline a review assignment:

1. Click the link in the assignment email or go to https://lf.gfoa.org/Forms. You will be asked to log in to the AMS. Your AMS username is your personal GFOA member ID number. If you already have an AMS login as a COA reviewer, you will use the same login and password for PAFR reviews. If you don’t already have an AMS login, click “forgot password” and then “send recovery email” and you will get a password reset link.
2. If you clicked the link in the email, you should see the Volunteer Confirmation Form. If logged in using the link in step 1, go to Open Tasks and open the Volunteer Confirmation Form.
3. If you cannot accept this assignment, click “Decline.” If you can complete this review, click “Accept.” Failure to complete this step within 7 days will result in the review being reassigned to another reviewer; you will not be able to complete this review at a later date.
4. Click “Submit”.
5. You will then see the review form. You can begin the review immediately or you can save a draft to return to later.

To complete your review:

1. Log into the AMS as noted above.
2. Go to Open Tasks list in your Inbox and click on the task name to open the review form. The review form will have three tabs as shown below. The Information tab will have details about the government and links to the PAFR, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and their responses to the prior year comments, if submitted. The second tab contains the applicant’s response to eligibility questions on the application. The third tab has space for you to make comments about each category and mark a grade for each.
3. You are required to enter comments and a numerical grade for each of the five categories. Please enter positive comments as well as suggestions for improvement.
4. Click the radio button for “Complete Review” and then click the blue “Complete” button.

Request a due date extension:

If you have accepted a volunteer review assignment but will not be able to complete it by the due date, you may request a one-week extension or you may request that the review be reassigned to another reviewer.

1. Log into the AMS as noted above.
2. Go to Open Tasks list in your Inbox and click on the task name to open the review form.
3. Click on the Comments and Grading tab and scroll to the bottom of the page.
4. Under “Volunteer Action” click “Request a Due Date Extension or Reassign Review”
5. Another question, “Extension or Reassign?” will appear. Click the radio button for your desired action.
6. Click “Complete” to submit your request. If you requested an extension, the task will temporarily disappear from your Open Tasks while GFOA staff reviews the request. It will reappear if the request is approved. You will also receive an email noting the extension decision.