By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
The Kentucky Public Pension Authority has announced the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada awarded its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to a pair of entities that are under the KPPA’s jurisdiction.
The County Employees Retirement System (CERS) and the Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS) were both honored for their separate Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFR).
The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
Both the CERS and KRS ACFRs were compiled by staff at the KPPA. The FY 2024 report awards mark the 25th consecutive year the GFOA has honored KPPA staff for their work presenting the systems’ comprehensive financial picture to the public. FY 2024 was the first year KPPA produced separate ACFRs for CERS and KRS.
“KPPA as the administrator has received this award for the past 25-plus years, and we are extremely proud of the work the staff has done to separate the ACFRs into CERS and KRS reports representing the systems overseen by the respective Boards of Trustees,” said Michael B. Lamb, KPPA Chief Financial Officer.
The GFOA advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources, and practical research for more than 21,000 members and the communities they serve. The CERS and KRS annual reports were 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 and motivate potential users and user groups to read the annual report.
The KPPA is responsible for the investment of funds and administration of pension and health insurance benefits for nearly 435,000 state and local government employees, state police officers, and nonteaching staff of local school boards and regional universities.
As of June 30, 2024, KPPA managed $26.9 billion in pension and insurance assets.