The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has awarded the city of Kent with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (known as CAFR in the industry) for the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2016.

This is the 23rd such honor for Kent.

The CAFR is judged by an impartial panel, comprised of individuals with expertise in public sector financial reporting, to determine if it meets the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to fully communicate an organization’s financial story and motivate potential users to read the CAFR.

“The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting,” said Aaron BeMiller, city finance director, in a city news release on Wednesday. “This is a significant accomplishment for the city, and I would like to thank the mayor, Council and CAO for all of the support they provide to the finance department, as well as the entire city, which empowers us to do our work correctly and to the best of our ability.”

The GFOA established the award in 1945 to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal.

This award comes just one month after the Kent received ratings upgrades from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Moody’s upgraded the City of Kent’s issuer and limited tax general obligation ratings from A1 to Aa3 and upgraded the city’s consolidated local improvement district bonds from A2 to A1. The city’s ratings outlook is now stable. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings upgraded Kent’s utility system bond rating to AA/stable.