The N.C. Education Lottery has received two new awards for its efforts to completely and clearly communicate its financial information to the public.

For the third year in a row, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has awarded the Education Lottery its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. A panel of the association’s members reviewed the NCEL’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the fiscal year 2010 and judged it to demonstrate a constructive “spirit of full disclosure.”

The 76-page report provides a detailed look at the revenues, assets and expenses of the lottery. The award, established in 1945, is given to governmental bodies that exceed the minimum standards of generally accepted accounting principles. It is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.

The association also awarded the Education Lottery its Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting for a 16-page report that provides an overview of the lottery’s financial condition for fiscal year 2010. The award goes to governmental agencies which meet the highest standards for preparation of state and local government reports, including creativity, presentation, understandability and reader appeal.

“The N.C. Education Lottery has grown into a $1.4 billion a year sales organization supporting education programs in our state,” said Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “Getting these awards, year after year, demonstrates our continued commitment to be accountable and transparent with how those lottery dollars are raised and spent.”

The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit serving 17,500 government finance professionals in the U.S. and Canada.