Fraud Archives - Office of the Washington State Auditor

Results for: Fraud

Do your internal controls have a first name?

May 26, 2021

Do you ever wonder if a key control can be a person? Maybe you have a long-standing employee that everyone goes to for answers, or perhaps an employee that really knows and understands a certain process. People are most certainly an important part of the control system, and governments benefit from these valuable employees that contribute so much. When asked about your internal controls by an auditor, however, your response should not be the name of a person.

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Visualizing Washington’s Unemployment Benefit Programs in 2020

April 13, 2021

This presentation tells the story of Washington’s Unemployment Insurance program during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, from the first American coronavirus patient diagnosed January 21 through the end of the year.

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Vulnerabilities in federal law, gaps in state fraud detection led to losses in unemployment insurance program, audits find

April 13, 2021

Emergency federal unemployment programs launched early in the COVID-19 pandemic included provisions that opened state unemployment benefits to fraud, the Office of the Washington State Auditor found in three audits released today.

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Auditor McCarthy releases first audit on unemployment fraud

December 18, 2020

An audit released today provides the first, high-level accounting of some of the circumstances surrounding the major fraud scheme that targeted Washington state’s unemployment benefits in the spring.

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The word "Why?" appearing behind torn orange paper,

What’s the ‘why’? Understand the purpose of each control to prevent fraud

November 20, 2020

It’s crucial that each staff member understand not only their day-to-day duties, but what those duties are meant to achieve (the why). However, this concept can be more difficult to apply due to some common missteps in the way we discuss internal controls.

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New checklists help you create strong controls to prevent fraud

November 19, 2020

Everyone knows a strong system of internal controls is the best way to deter fraud in your organization, or detect it quickly should it occur. But designing and evaluating internal control systems can be overwhelming. So where do you start?

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balance sheet and calculator on accountant's desk.

Bank statements deserve your attention

November 18, 2020

Failure to perform bank statement reviews might seem like a small oversight, but it could have drastic consequences. Read more to find out some best practices for your review.

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Communication symbols for phone, e-mail and letter standing on the floor against a wall

Do your employees and citizens have a way to report concerns?

November 17, 2020

It’s important that local governments provide employees and citizens with a safe and trusted process for reporting concerns such as potential fraud or misappropriation. Doing so helps you find out about issues and address them promptly, mitigating financial and other negative effects to your organization.

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International Fraud Awareness Week is a great time to update your fraud fighting toolkit

November 16, 2020

This week, we will highlight resources and important information to help state and local governments update their fraud fighting toolkits. We encourage you to check out these resources and share them with your agency.

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How to prevent ACH and bank fraud

September 18, 2020

Automated Clearing House (ACH) frauds have been on the rise for a while, and we want to tell you some simple steps you can take to properly verify ACH and payroll bank account changes before making changes.

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The Audit Connection Blog

Results for: Fraud