Springfield Airport Authority Receives Award For Excellence in Financial Reporting
For the fiscal year ending June 30, the Springfield Airport Authority received an unmodified, or “clean opinion”, of its financial report from the CPA firm of Eck, Schafer & Punke. Jim Hogge from the CPA firm said, “Once again, the Airport Authority’s staff did a fantastic job preparing for us and the audit process went very smooth.”
According to the audit, the airport’s net assets, total assets minus total liabilities, was slightly down over last year at $62.7 million. The authority had a net loss of $1,682,000 in accordance with applicable accounting rules and regulations compared to a net gain of $4,900 in 2016. The primary reason for the decrease in net income was a decrease in contribution (grant) revenue. In an effort to provide a more realistic picture of the financial posture of the airport authority at fiscal year end, the exclusion of depreciation of $4,778,000 and grant revenues of $1,264,000 actually provides a positive net income value of $1,832,000. This is one of the highest net incomes, excluding depreciation expense and grant contributions, in the last ten years.
“The airport authority has done a superb job of maintaining and diversifying its revenue sources, being disciplined with operational spending, managing debt and maintaining certain reserve levels,” said Mike Houston, chair of the Airport Authority’s Budget and Finance Committee.
Frank J. Vala, chair for the board of commissioners, summarized the financial report by saying, “The airport authority staff has done an excellent job navigating through many challenging hurdles in the industry and other uncontrollable variables that affect the execution of the airport’s budget and its financial standing”. He concluded, “We have continued our tradition of excellent financial reporting and fiscal responsibility; all levels of our staff are to be commended for this success.”
The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to the Springfield Airport Authority by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, or CAFR. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
“One of the Springfield Airport Authority’s core principles is to be enterprising. Our CAFR underscores our continued commitment to have an entrepreneurial mindset that emphasizes innovation and financial efficiency,” said Frank J. Vala, Chair of the Springfield Airport Authority. Mike Houston, the Authority’s Budget and Finance Committee Chair added, “This recognition is a direct reflection on the efforts of our staff and their attention to detail; they are to be commended for this achievement once again”.
The Springfield Airport Authority is a multi-year winner of this award having received it the past fourteen (14) consecutive years. In order to be awarded the Certificate of Achievement, a government entity must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report whose contents conform to program standards. Such reports must satisfy both Generally Acceptable Accounting Principles (GAAP) and applicable legal requirements.
The CAFR was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program which includes demonstrating a constructive “spirit of disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR. The Government Finance Officers Association is a major professional association servicing the needs of nearly 19,000 government finance practitioners.
