Labor wins another CEAR

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has received its ninth successive Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR) Award from the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) for the department’s fiscal year 2008 Performance and Accountability Report.

The FY 2008 Performance and Accountability Report is the Labor Department’s principal publication for the public to see how the department managed programs and resources. The report notes performance accomplishments and tells about the expenditure of public funds.

This report also was ranked by George Mason University’s Mercatus Center as the best in the federal government concerning accuracy, transparency and public benefit. Twenty-four agencies competed for that award.

CEAR Award recipients are determined by a panel of senior-level AGA members representing chief financial and inspector general offices, performance measurement experts and independent public accounting firms. The panel evaluated the department’s report using AGA’s reviewer guidelines, developed and discussed detailed recommendations for improving the report and voted on whether to present the award.