For the eighth year in a row, the City of Chula Vista has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The honor comes from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) and was awarded to the City for its comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year 2007-2008.

The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting. According to the GFOA, it represents a "significant accomplishment by a government and its management staff."

"This honor recognizes our commitment to full disclosure and accurate financial reporting," said Chula Vista's Finance Director Maria Kachadoorian. "It's important to the Wall Street professionals and banking institutions who rely on our financial statements to evaluate our financial condition." Kachadoorian was honored at Tuesday's City Council meeting and presented with a formal plaque from GFOA.

An impartial panel singled out Chula Vista for meeting the high standards of the GFOA program including "demonstrating a constructive spirit of full disclosure to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users to read it." The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals.