It is obligatory for state and local governments of the US to draw up a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) yearly. This document provides important financial data of a particular governmental entity and serves to ensure transparency of the economic situation for investors and citizens. This paper will analyze the CAFR released by the chief financial officer of the finance department of the city of Phoenix, Arizona.
The CAFR of the city of Phoenix is divided into three sections: introductory, financial, and statistical section. The first section consists of a letter of transmittal, a certificate of achievement, and the organizational chart of the city (Olson, 2018). The independent auditor’s report, management discussion and analysis, and financial statements are constituents of the financial section (Olson, 2018). It is the major part of the report since it comprises all the necessary information about the financial state of the governmental entity (Bartlett, 2016). The statistical section provides data about financial trends, revenue and debt capacity, as well as economic, demographic, and operating information.
The management’s discussion and analysis seem to be a particularly interesting part of the report. This section gives an overview of the most significant points of the document and provides an explanation of them. The part of the statistical section, which demonstrates financial trends, seems to be the most useful because it gives an opportunity to compare the financial performance and expenditures over a specific period of time.
The information included in the CAFR particularly in the statistical section may be helpful for investors, administrators, and ordinary citizens. It allows the reader to see how the governmental entity develops financially over time. The details presented in this section do not seem to be marginal or useless because they help the reader to understand the financial status of the governmental entity better.
References
Bartlett, D. (2016). Government financial disclosures: The timeliness of state comprehensive annual financial reports. Web.
Olson, D. M. (2018). City of Phoenix, Arizona: Comprehensive annual financial report. Web.