NYS Annual Financial Report (AFR)

Each year, NYS municipalities and schools are required to submit financial information from the prior year to the (Annual Financial Information or AFR) through an online portal administered by the Office of the State Comptroller. For Towns, these figures are due 120 days after the fiscal year end (December 31). 

For the fiscal year end 2024, the Town of Niskayuna is late in filing the AFR.

An Unusual Year

Last year, as you may recall, we lost our Comptroller and Town Supervisor within weeks of one another. I took over as Supervisor at the very end of September.

The AFR requires that you legally certify the information is "true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief" before you submit the figures online. I am not comfortable providing these figures blindly, and certifying that these figures are accurate, because I had no control, responsibility or oversight over 75% of the time these numbers were recorded. Below you will see an example of the certification (from 2023).

It appears we are not the only entities in NYS having some trouble with timing. HERE IS A LIST of the 485 entities that haven’t filed as of 10/18/2025. This isn’t ideal, but it also isn’t entirely unusual. Things happen, we adjust and we move forward. 

Auditing in Nisky

The Bonadio Group is the outside firm who bid on and were awarded the Town’s auditing contract in early 2025. This is a new auditing firm for the Town, and we were put on their schedule after their previously scheduled school district audits (June 30 fiscal year end). They will continue to pick apart our numbers, processes, transactions, record-keeping and advise on changes that may be needed. 

Ask anyone in government accounting, and they will agree that new auditors typically take much longer than entities that have worked with your organization previously.

Moving Forward

Once this work is completed, the final figures will be uploaded into the AFR portal, I will certify them, and the financial statements will be uploaded to the Town website.

I realize that there may be some residual distrust in the town’s finances, so I added a link to the comptroller’s portion of the website to the EMMA website. This site provides information on all of the Town’s Bond and Bond Anticipation Note (BAN) debt. It also provides a full, unaudited accounting of the Town’s 2024 financial information. This was provided to them when we applied to roll some BAN debt forward in February. This debt is due to be paid off in 2026.

As always, I am available for questions or conversations on any and everything Town-related ecd@niskayuna.org.