Collier County has a fiscal year and, by statute, must close its books and report its financial condition annually by June 30 of the subsequent year. The fiscal year for county government begins October 1 and ends September 30. In Collier County, both the day-to-day accounting and annual financial reporting is the responsibility of the Finance Department of the Collier County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. The closing of the books for Collier County is a six (6) month process culminating in the issuance of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). Pursuant to Florida law, the ACFR must be audited by an independent certified public accountant. This financial audit, including the auditor’s opinion on the financial statements, must be filed with the Florida Auditor General. The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report consolidates the financial activities of the Board of County Commissioners, the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, the Sheriff, the Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Supervisor of Elections.
With a current budget of over $2 Billion, the closing of the underlying accounting records is a significant undertaking requiring hundreds of hours of work and cooperation between the Clerk’s Comptroller office and county departments, as well as the constitutional offices. The County provides its citizens with a wide range of services that include tax assessment and collections, law enforcement, emergency management, animal services, library, museum and cultural services, parks and recreation operations, road maintenance and construction, economic development and social and human services. Additionally, the County owns and operates a water and wastewater utility, a solid waste landfill and recycling program, a landfill gas to energy facility, three airports, a transit system and an amateur sports complex.
Collier County is statutorily required to file an Annual Financial Report with the Department of Financial Services. The revenue and expense/expenditure data contained within this report is the same as the ACFR but presented in a different format that facilitates comparisons between counties.
Accountability is the paramount objective of governmental financial reporting. Governments’ duty to be accountable includes providing financial information that is useful for economic, social, and political decisions. Financial reports that contribute to these decisions include information useful for comparing actual financial results with the legally adopted budget, assessing financial condition and results of operations, assisting in determining compliance with finance related laws, rules, and regulations in evaluating efficiency and effectiveness.
Accounting rules for governments, including counties, are promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board of the Financial Accounting Foundation. These rules require that financial information be reported in two major activity categories, governmental and business-type on an entity wide basis, as well as on a fund-by-fund basis. The governmental and business-type activities are reported on a full accrual basis, and the individual fund information is reported on a modified accrual basis for certain funds and a full accrual basis for others. For fiscal year 2025, Collier County will be required to adopt the principles codified in Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 101, Compensated Absences. The goal of this accounting change is to unify the recognition and measurement of compensated absences across governments and report a better estimate of the liability that a government will pay or settle. Expectations are that Collier County will report an increase in liability related to compensated absences and a corresponding net decrease in net position.
For further information please visit our website at www.collierclerk.com for the complete FY 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report or our recently published FY 2024 Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR). The PAFR offers a condensed, and more readable, version of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.