What is a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)?
GAAP have established the basic financial statements and required supplementary information (RSI) as the minimum standard for financial reporting. Governments are expressly encouraged to go beyond these minimum requirements and present a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). A CAFR expands upon the basic financial statements by including additional financial information broken down in three sections: Introductory, Financial, and Statistical. The Introductory Section provides general information on the government’s structure, services and environment. The Financial Section includes the basic financial statements and RSI as well as additional information on all individual funds not reported separately in the basic financial statements. The Statistical Section provides trend data and non-financial information that assists in the assessment of the government’s financial condition.
