This morning Civil Beat member Chris Holliman asked a great question: “It’s my understanding that the CAFR is required of every municipality in the U.S.A. since 1947? Please shed all the light you can on this…?”

Ah, my new friend, the CAFR. In case you haven’t heard the term before, CAFR refers to an important financial document called the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – often called “the CAFR” (pronounced “caffer”).

As Chris suggests, the CAFR is a standard report assembled by every state government, including Hawaii. It’s a part of fund accounting — the way state, local and federal governments keep track of their finances. The Government Finance Review gives a pretty interesting historical overview.

Hawaii’s most recent CAFR is for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008. When you really get into the 171-page document, it illuminates quite a bit. You can see a thorough rundown of all state revenues, expenditures, liabilities and assets, using specific categories to describe all government-related money.

The report also provides one of the few encompassing looks at all streams of money that flow in and out of the government. It doesn’t cover, however, the Employees’ Retirement System (ranked among the lowest funded public retirement plans) or the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

If you’re interested in digging in, download it here.

Don’t worry, though, if delving into lengthy budget documents isn’t your cup of tea. I’ve already created a Hawaii Economy page, where I’ve pulled together the most interesting data from the CAFR and put it into plain English. Here are some pages with some more background that I hope you find helpful:

• Hawaii State Government
• Hawaii State Government Deficit
• Price of Paradise
• Hawaii General Excise and Use Tax (GET)

See other places you’d like me to dig in? The CAFR is just one of the many thick volumes in my new financial library.