Central Accounting Operations has about 80 employees and provides core services such as accounts payable and financial reporting. The Claims Section audits and pays vendors with contracts approved by the Board or by the County’s Purchasing Agent. These payments are for a large variety of goods and services which are necessary to keep the County functioning.
Each December, the Financial Reporting Unit publishes the County’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), which presents the County’s audited financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The CAFR is used by the public, bond-rating agencies, government, and internally to examine the financial health of the County. Based on the CAFR, staff also produces the OC Citizen’s Report which is a distillation of the most important findings in the CAFR but written for the lay person. The Financial Reporting Unit is also responsible for preparing the Single Audit Report, a federal requirement for governments that receive federal financial assistance and is required to continue receiving such assistance.