City releases guide to its annual financial report

To help make its annual financial report more accessible, the city of Grand Rapids released a guide that summarizes its recent finances.

The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and the Citizen’s Guide to the City’s Finances for fiscal year 2022 have been published online and were featured in a recent committee of the whole meeting. During a presentation, City Comptroller Max Frantz introduced the latest citizen’s guide — an easy-to-read, summarized version of the ACFR.

The guide includes information such as a one-page summary of the city’s finances, information on the city’s revenues and expenses, top vendors paid, tax abatement programs and a debt summary, plus helpful infographics that illustrate the information.

“The citizen’s guide represents a continuation of our commitment toward governmental excellence and continuous improvement of our reporting to the public to help simplify sometimes complex subject matters,” Frantz said. “The citizen’s guide aims to present a concise and straightforward overview of key financial topics for individuals to help those interested to learn more about their government’s finances.”

In accordance with the U.S. Governmental Accounting Standards Board accounting requirements, the city’s ACFR includes an audit report plus financial information, statements, schedules and statistics.

The newest citizen’s guide outlines the city’s financial activity from July 1, 2021, to June 30,…

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