MEDIA RELEASE

Nancy Crawford, Kay Oshiro

Hawaii County Director of Finance Nancy Crawford and county Controller Kay Oshiro each have been awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for their work on the county’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by government and its management personnel.

“Our county is truly blessed to have highly talented and dedicated public servants who continue to do such an outstanding job in these challenging economic times,” said Mayor Billy Kenoi. “I’m very pleased and certainly not surprised that such a high-caliber professional organization has recognized the result of their hard work and long hours spent in service to our county.”

The CAFR was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of transparency and full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential user groups to read the CAFR. The 138-page report can be viewed on the County Web site at http://www.hawaii-county.com/finance/cafr.htm.

The GFOA established the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program (CAFR Program) in 1945 to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal. Reports submitted to the CAFR Program are reviewed by selected members of the GFOA professional staff and the GFOA Special Review Committee, which comprises individuals with expertise in public-sector financial reporting and includes financial statement preparers, independent auditors, academics and other finance professionals.

Crawford has been with the county Department of Finance for nine years, serving as Deputy to former Director Bill Takaba and currently as Director. She began her career with the County in the Department of Public Works where she worked for six years. Prior to moving to Hawaii, Crawford was a hospital controller and a CPA in Colorado.

Oshiro was named controller in January 2009 after serving as an accountant for the Hawaii County Police Department. She was previously a budget specialist for the County of Maui, assistant controller at Kaanapali Beach Hotel, and an auditor with Deloitte & Touche LLP.

The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, IL, and Washington, D.C.