What type of report is ineligible for submission to the Certificate Program?

The reason why a CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) of an external investment pool is ineligible for submission to the Certificate Program is that external investment pools are typically not entities that fall under the primary reporting guidelines intended for the Certificate Program. The purpose of the Certificate Program is to evaluate and recognize the financial reporting of certain types of entities, particularly governmental organizations and their financial activities.

In general, external investment pools are designed to manage the investments of municipalities or other governmental entities, but they are not standalone reporting entities in the same sense as governmental units. The financial activities of an external investment pool are usually consolidated within their respective participants’ financial statements rather than reported as separate entities with their own comprehensive financial reports.

Other types of reports, such as the CAFR of a public college or a department reported as an enterprise fund, are associated with government entities that typically meet the program requirements for submission. These entities provide comprehensive oversight of their financial activities, making them suitable for evaluation under the Certificate Program's standards. Component units, which are legally separate entities that are financially accountable to a primary government, also produce CAFRs that are relevant to the program.

Thus, understanding the nature of what constitutes suitable reports for the Certificate Program is key, and external investment pools