Juvenile Welfare Board Receives Top Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recently awarded the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award for their 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

In its announcement of the award, GFOA stated that JWB’s annual comprehensive financial report “has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive ‘spirit of full disclosure’ to clearly communicate its financial story…. 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.”

This is the fourth consecutive year JWB has received the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.

“Earning the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award is a great accomplishment,” said JWB CFO Laura Krueger Brock, who was also a 2023 Tampa Bay Business Journal CFO of the Year. “This shows a commitment to JWB and provides valuable historical and accounting knowledge to the organization,” she said.

Ms. Brock congratulated the JWB Accounting team by name—Senior Manager of Accounting Lynn De le Torre, Senior Accountant Richard Godfrey, Accountant Anne Crawford, and Fiscal Specialist Lilia Pletnev—while noting the team’s continuity and extremely low turnover: Collectively, the Accounting unit has 57 years of employment with JWB, with an average of 14 years of service.

“The GFOA award—considered the Gold Star in financial reporting—is a testament to the JWB Accounting team’s dedication to organizational transparency and accountability,” said JWB Board Chair Judge Patrice Moore, while presenting the newest award to staff at the January 18th Board meeting. “The Accounting team deserves our congratulations for this recognition of their hard work and dedication to excellence!”

Submission requirements are very detailed: The reviewer checklist is very lengthy—more than 100 pages. JWB accounting staff poured tremendous effort into this endeavor while completing the day-to-day duties associated with the organization’s annual impact budget of $93 million, which strengthened the lives of nearly 64,000 children and families.

Learn more about how JWB has been putting Pinellas County children first for more than 75 years at https://www.jwbpinellas.org/about/

Pictured above: Juvenile Welfare Board Receives Top Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting Four Years Running: (l to r) JWB Senior Accountant Richard Godfrey, Chief Financial Officer Laura Krueger Brock, Senior Manager of Accounting Lynn De la Torre, and JWB Board Chair Judge Patrice Moore.