Dauphin County Controller earns two national awards for excellence in public sector financial reporting

HARRISBURG, PA (December 5, 2017) – Since taking office in January of 2016 as Dauphin County Controller, Tim DeFoor has prioritized financial transparency and reporting at the county. His efforts have earned two national awards – the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (CAFR) and the Popular Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting (PAFR) - from the Government Finance Officers Association for the county’s 2016 comprehensive and popular financial reports.
 
“I am very excited and proud,” said DeFoor. “This is a first for Dauphin County. I would like to thank my staff for their hard work and dedication, the County Commissioners for their support, and the PA State Association of County Controller’s for their guidance. This was for the people of Dauphin County who support bringing forth a change in county government by transparency and continual process improvement.”
 
The CAFR is awarded to state and local governments that “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.”
 
Dauphin County Commissioners Jeff Haste, Mike Pries and George P. Hartwick commended the Controller for strengthening the county’s financial reporting standards and creating a new, simplified report for residents.  
 
Dauphin County’s first-ever Popular Annual Financial Report, issued at the end of 2016, earned the Government Finance Officers Association award for “extracting information from its comprehensive annual financial report to produce a high quality popular annual financial report specifically designed to be readily accessible and easily understandable to the general public.”
 
Both reports were developed internally by the Controller’s office.
 
Over the past year, DeFoor has taken steps to enhance operations and efficiency, including, but not limited to: reorganizing staff and adding an audit division, going “paperless” by implementing electronic workflow, recovering $18,200 owed to the county from vendors, saved $67,320 by strengthening auditing services, and creating a year-round, for-credit internship program for college students.  
 
For more information about the Dauphin County Controller, or to view the reports, visit www.DauphinCounty.org and click on “Government Services” and “Publicly Elected Officials.” To learn more about the awards and the Government Finance Officers Association, visit www.gfoa.org.

 

 
About the Controller
The Dauphin County Controller is the elected Chief Fiscal Officer who supervises fiscal affairs, as set forth by Pennsylvania County Code for counties of the Third Class. The Controller is required by county code to maintain custody and stewardship of all county contracts. The Controller serves as the Secretary of the Retirement and a member of Dauphin County Prison Board, Salary Board, and the Local Emergency Planning Committee.