Markham honoured with two awards recognizing budgeting and financial reporting excellence

“The City of Markham is honoured to receive these prestigious awards as they recognize the outstanding efforts and commitment to financial leadership excellence made by our Council and staff,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “This is a praiseworthy achievement by Markham and we are determined to continue delivering excellent services to residents while keeping taxes low. I would like to commend Markham Council and all the staff for their hard work and adaptability throughout the pandemic. Thank you for ensuring our budget financial reporting is comprehensive, timely and transparent.”

Budget Chief Councillor Amanda Yeung Collucci said, “We are so proud of these awards. They are the result of many hours of hard work every year by staff to ensure we are being as transparent as possible to our citizens and stakeholders. We’ve been able to develop a financial report and budget that’s accessible and engaging to Markham residents and businesses. On behalf of the Budget Committee, a special thank you to our Financial Planning and Reporting staff for their commitment to responsible and transparent fiscal reporting and planning.”

The Distinguished Budget Presentation Award recognizes Markham for preparing a comprehensive 2021 budget document that allows residents to be fully informed of the City’s policies, corporate initiatives and financial plans, and that fosters better decision making and accountability. The submission must meet nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation to receive this award. The GFOA assesses each budget submission for its merit as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide and communications device. This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting. In addition to receiving the award, the City’s budget received a Special Performance Measures Recognition.

The Canadian Award for Financial Reporting recognizes Markham’s excellence in governmental accounting and financial reporting for publishing an easily readable and efficiently organized annual financial report for the year ending December 31, 2020. The award signifies that the City delivered a comprehensive financial report that provided transparency and disclosure over and above the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles, as set by the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

From top to bottom (L to R) - Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti; Treasurer Joel Lustig; Commissioner of Corporate Services Trinela Cane; CAO Andy Taylor; Senior Accountant, Financial Services Kishor Soneji; Manager Budgets, Financial Services, Veronica Siu; Budget Chief and Councillor Amanda Yeung Collucci; Budget Committee Vice-Chair and Councillor Andrew Keyes and Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Reporting Lisa Chen.