For the 12th consecutive year, the City of Kirkland received the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Achievement for Financial Reporting. This award is for the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2015.

Mayor Amy Walen recognized the dedication of the city’s finance and administration department during the Sept. 19 City Council meeting. Teresa Levine, accounting manager, and members of her team were present to accept the award, as was Director of Finance and Administration Michael Olson.

“We’re very proud of maintaining our Triple-A credit rating, and we’re very proud of our clean audit,” said Mayor Amy Walen in a press release. “It takes a lot of work and professional excellence.”

The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and it demonstrates the city’s commitment to transparency and full disclosure, according to the release.

The city also received clean audit opinions for three annual audits conducted by the state auditor’s office for 2016 including the accountability audit, financial statement audit and federal grant compliance audit. The state auditor’s office commended Kirkland for not having any findings or management letter comments given the size and complexity of the city.