Posted Date: 09/19/2024
Ouachita Parish Schools Chief Financial Officer Regina Mekus and her team continue to be recognized for their excellence and efficiency in financial reporting.
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) recently awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to Ouachita Parish Schools for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, and the GFOA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting (PAFR Award) for its Popular Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
The GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. This is the 36th consecutive year that Ouachita Parish Schools has received this esteemed award.
The PAFR Award represents a significant achievement by the District for providing stakeholders with an annual comprehensive financial report based on the following categories: reader appeal, understandability, distribution methods, creativity and other elements.
The report was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive ‘spirit of full disclosure’ to communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report.
Earlier this year, the District received a perfect audit – an unmodified opinion with no findings on the agency’s financial statements and compliance audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. The unmodified “clean” opinion from an independent accounting firm is the highest opinion possible.