SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Employees Retirement System, once the epicenter of a municipal financial mess, won an award for its 2007-08 annual financial report, it was announced Friday.

SDCERS won a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association.

The association's award program is designed to encourage public entities to go beyond the minimum standards of accepted accounting principles to prepare reports that display transparency and full disclosure.

"This organization has taken great strides to improve the accuracy, accountability and transparency of our accounting and finance functions," said David Wescoe, chief executive officer of SDCERS.

Chronic underfunding of the pension plan led to a deficit that was well above $1 billion, throwing the city's finances into turmoil for years. The shortfall was estimated last December to have ballooned to about $2 billion because of investment losses.