Discover what auditing for us is all about
The Washington State Auditor’s Office (SAO) is a team-driven environment, with nearly 500 employees located in more than a dozen regional offices across our state.
Our work matters, too: We help more than 2,000 local governments and state agencies maintain fiscal responsibility through objective and transparent auditing.
Our efforts as public servants also include performance audits of government programs, cybersecurity audits, fraud prevention, resources and services to assist local governments, and more.
View our current openings and internships and join us as we help build better government.
Unlock your professional growth and advancement
The growth and advancement of our Office depends on people who strive for excellence, so we encourage this through ongoing training, mentoring, certification and educational support. For example, we’ve created a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program that helps participants enhance their expertise in process improvement, efficiency and quality management.
Sure we’re a bit biased, but we think this is a great place to establish a career. Take a few minutes to read about Haji Adams, who started with us more than 15 years ago as an intern and is currently the manager of our Team North King County. We truly love to see people grow with SAO!
We embrace everyone’s differences
All of us at SAO are committed to ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our agency. We recognize that different perspectives and backgrounds result in better decision-making, better work, and a better workplace. Employees here have intrinsic worth, not in spite of their differences but because of their differences.
A job here has purpose and meaning
More than 75% of our employees are auditors who live and work throughout the state, providing objective audits of local governments to provide accountability and transparency of the public’s money.
There’s something special about that, as SAO Assistant State Auditor Erik Simonson touched upon in a Journal of Accountancy article regarding the benefits working in the public sector. ““I think bringing accountability to government is a noble calling,” he said, “and I find it a very meaningful part of my work.”
Our teams work on a wide array of audits of state agencies, local governments, school districts and colleges. As auditors develop their skills and gain experience, they have the opportunity to add specialized knowledge in financial, accountability, IT and performance auditing. Auditors may move into handling special investigations such as fraud or citizen hotline referrals.
Work as complex as auditing requires top-notch support staff. Our Office employs close to 75 people in professional and paraprofessional positions in budget and financial management, information technology, human resources, contracting, audit report production, audit support and communications. Most of these positions are located in Olympia, WA.
Benefits that support a healthy work/life balance
Doing your best work is important, but maintaining a healthy personal life is equally important. As such we offer a comprehensive package of health and wellness benefits to our employees including:
- Flexible and hybrid work schedules
- Healthcare, dental and vision coverage
- Retirement plans including pension and Roth options
- Basic life and disability insurance plans
- Paid vacation and sick leave
- Twelve paid holidays (11 official, 1 personal)
- Learn about state government employee benefits (opens new tab)
Join our team today!
If SAO sounds like the kind of place you’d like to work, we’d love to hear from you! See our current job openings and let us know if you need assistance or accommodations with the application process.
You can contact us at applicationsunit@sao.wa.gov, by phone at (564) 999-0942 or via the telecommunications relay service by dialing 7-1-1.