Comptroller William McNamara Publishes Fiscal Year 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
Today, Comptroller of the Commonwealth William McNamara published the Commonwealth’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2020, the period that ended June 30, 2020.
The objective of the report is to provide a clear financial picture of the government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a single, unified entity. The Annual Report incorporates activity from over 150 departments, including the various agencies, boards, and commissions, the 25 institutions of higher education, the judicial and legislative branches of government, and constitutional offices, as well as 41 separate, independent public authorities.
This analysis is required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The Office of the Comptroller staff has prepared this report following GASB guidelines on what must be included and in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States of America.
Additionally, the Annual Report includes an auditor’s report prepared by the Commonwealth’s independent auditors, KPMG, LLP.
This report presents the Commonwealth’s financial information on three bases of accounting, each serving a different purpose:
- The fund perspective statements present governmental operations on a modified accrual basis of accounting.
- The government-wide perspective combines all governmental and business-type activities in a statement of net position and a statement of activities, presenting all functions on a full accrual basis of accounting.
- In the government-wide statements, the balance sheet has been organized into a net position format, which classifies all assets and liabilities as either short-term or long-term, and then subtracts liabilities and deferred inflows of resources from assets and deferred outflows of resources from liabilities to arrive at a net position.
“I am pleased to publish the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, a key deliverable of the Office of the Comptroller,” Comptroller of the Commonwealth William McNamara said. “I believe this report presents an accurate, detailed, and comprehensive picture of the Commonwealth and its component parts. I am grateful to the members of this office, our partners throughout state government, and our independent auditors at KPMG for their extensive work to publish this report.”
The Annual Report has historically been published in December or January following the pertinent fiscal year. The belated publication of this year’s edition reflects the delayed legislative and administrative close of Fiscal Year 2020. Said Comptroller McNamara, “The Legislature and our partners throughout the Administration have worked through extraordinary budgetary circumstances this year brought about by COVID-19, which have led to the delayed publication of this report. As we return to a greater sense of normalcy in Fiscal Year 2021, this office stands ready to work with our legislative and administrative partners to ensure a timely close to the year.”
The report can be found online at macomptroller.org/comprehensiveannualfinancialreport.
About the Office of the Comptroller
The Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is an independent and apolitical overseer of more than $66 billion in governmental and other funding sources annually. In addition, the Comptroller oversees the Commonwealth’s expenditure and payroll management and major audit functions.
As stewards of the public trust, we aspire to inspire confidence by maintaining our core principles: clarity, integrity, and accountability.
The powers and obligations of the Office of the Comptroller are generally dictated by M.G.L. c. 7A.