If you research local government finances, you will run into both ACFR and CAFR. They look like two different documents. They are not. They are the same audited annual financial report under two different names, and the name simply changed in 2021.
This guide explains the difference in plain English: what each acronym means, why the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) renamed the report, whether anything about the document actually changed, and which numbers to look at once you open one.
The Short Answer
An ACFR and a CAFR are the same thing. Both refer to a local government's complete, independently audited annual financial report. In 2021, GFOA renamed it from Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) to Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). The contents, structure, and purpose of the report did not change. Only the name and the acronym did.
| CAFR | ACFR | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Annual Comprehensive Financial Report |
| In use | Standard term for decades through 2020 | Standard term from 2021 onward |
| What it is | Audited annual government financial report | The same audited annual government financial report |
| Contents | Introductory, financial, and statistical sections | Identical |
| Standards body | GASB / GAAP | GASB / GAAP |
If you are reading a report dated 2020 or earlier, it will almost always say "CAFR." Reports for fiscal years ending in late 2021 and after generally say "ACFR." Both are valid, and you will see the older term for years to come in archived documents and financial systems.
Why Did GFOA Rename CAFR to ACFR?
The reason was the acronym itself. When "CAFR" is pronounced as a word, it closely resembles an ethnic slur historically used in South Africa. To avoid that unintended and offensive association, GFOA's leadership approved changing the report's name to "Annual Comprehensive Financial Report," which produces the more neutral acronym ACFR. The decision was announced in early 2021.
It is worth being clear about what did not change. This was a naming decision, not an accounting change. No reporting requirement, statement, disclosure, or standard was altered by the rename. A government's 2019 CAFR and its 2023 ACFR are prepared to the same framework and can be compared directly.
The new terminology was later formalized in the accounting literature. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), which sets the accounting rules these reports follow, issued GASB Statement No. 98, The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, in October 2021. It updated references throughout official standards and applies to fiscal years ending after December 15, 2021, with earlier adoption encouraged.
Sources: Government Finance Officers Association, Statement on the Name Change of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (approved by the GFOA Executive Board March 5, 2021); GASB Statement No. 98, The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (October 2021).
Is There Any Real Difference Between an ACFR and a CAFR?
No. For analytical purposes you can treat them as identical. The report still contains the same three core sections:
- Introductory section. The letter of transmittal and background context. This part is not audited.
- Financial section. The audited core, including the independent auditor's report, Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), the government-wide statements, the fund financial statements, and the notes.
- Statistical section. Roughly ten years of trend data on revenues, expenditures, debt, and demographics.
If you want a full walkthrough of each section and what it tells you, see our companion guide, What Is an ACFR? The Complete Guide.
Will I Still See "CAFR"?
Yes, frequently. The term was the standard for decades, so it persists in:
- Reports published for fiscal years 2020 and earlier
- City and county websites that have not updated older links and page titles
- Search tools, document archives, and financial databases
- Everyday usage by finance staff who used the term for their entire careers
When you are searching for a particular government's report, it is worth trying both terms. Pairing the city or county name with "ACFR" and then with "CAFR" will often surface different years of the same document.
How to Read Either One: The Numbers That Matter
Whether the cover says ACFR or CAFR, the same handful of figures tell you most of what you need to know about a government's financial health.
| What to Look For | Where to Find It | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Change in net position | Statement of Activities | Is the government gaining or losing financial net worth? |
| General fund balance | Fund financial statements | The primary operating cushion |
| Fund balance as % of expenditures | Calculated from fund statements | GFOA suggests a minimum near 17%, about two months of operating costs |
| Net pension liability | Statement of Net Position and notes | Unfunded pension obligations |
| Debt outstanding | Notes on long-term obligations | Total bonded debt burden |
| Auditor's opinion | First page of the financial section | A qualified or adverse opinion is a serious red flag |
For a step-by-step approach to working through a report quickly, read How to Read an ACFR in 10 Minutes, and for a deeper analytical framework, see How to Analyze Municipal Financial Statements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does ACFR stand for?
ACFR stands for Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. It is a local government's complete, independently audited annual financial report, prepared under standards set by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
What did CAFR stand for?
CAFR stood for Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. It is the former name for the same document, used as the standard term until the 2021 rename.
When did CAFR become ACFR?
GFOA announced the change in early 2021, and GASB formally adopted the new terminology in Statement No. 98 later that year. Reports for fiscal years ending in late 2021 and after generally use "ACFR."
Is a CAFR the same as an ACFR?
Yes. They are the same report. Only the name and the order of the words in the acronym changed. The contents and accounting standards are identical.
Why is it not called CAFR anymore?
Because the spoken acronym resembled an ethnic slur historically used in South Africa. GFOA renamed the report to avoid that association, with no change to the underlying document.
Skip the 200-Page PDF
ACFRs and CAFRs are thorough, but they are also long, inconsistently formatted, and published as PDFs that can run past 200 pages. MuniSpot parses and standardizes this data across more than 20,000 U.S. governments, so you can compare a city to national benchmarks, track multi-year trends, and screen by specific financial criteria without reading every page yourself.
Explore financial data for any U.S. city or county on MuniSpot
MuniSpot is not a financial advisor; this content is for educational purposes only.