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

For the fourth 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 for the fiscal year 2011 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 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 2011. 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.

“These awards recognize the lottery’s effort to be accountable and transparent about how lottery dollars are raised and spent,” said Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “Receiving these awards four years in a row demonstrates our commitment to meet these top standards in financial reporting.”

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

Copies of the two reports are posted on the NCEL’s website and can be viewed at http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/about.aspx.