City of Columbia receives award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting

The City of Columbia has received the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting (PAFR) for its Popular Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2025.

Each eligible report is reviewed by judges who evaluate the report based on the following categories: reader appeal, understandability, distribution methods, creativity and other elements.

The Popular Annual Financial Report is intended to summarize the financial activities of the City of Columbia government. It includes a portion of information that appears in the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

"The City's Finance staff work diligently to ensure our budget documents are easily accessible to the residents they represent," said Director of Finance Mathew Lue. "This award highlights our commitment to maintaining high standards and transparency in our budgeting process."

To be eligible for the PAFR Award, a government must also submit its annual comprehensive financial report to GFOA's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program and receive the certificate for the current fiscal year.

This award means that the City of Columbia continues to be a GFOA Triple Crown Winner. GFOA's Triple Crown recognizes governments that have received GFOA's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.

Interested parties can find each Popular Annual Financial Report and other reports related to the City's annual budget on the City's Financial Reports page.

The Government Finance Officers Association was founded in 1906 and represents public finance officials throughout the United States and Canada. The association's more than 20,000 members are federal, state/provincial and local finance officials deeply involved in planning, financing and implementing thousands of governmental operations in each of their jurisdictions.