Local governments are required to submit an annual financial report within 150 days after their fiscal year end under state law (RCW 43.09.230). Exhibit 1 illustrates that the number of governments meeting this requirement has increased for the fourth consecutive year. Exhibit 2 illustrates that 228 of the 302 governments that missed the filing deadline also missed the deadline in 2015.
The State Auditor’s Office has emphasized the importance of filing timely annual reports and has provided assistance in a variety of ways. Most recently, we offered 27 free filing workshops statewide to help all local governments that were having difficulty meeting the requirement. Of the 350 governments that attended the workshops, 321 were able to file timely annual reports. This included 50 governments that did not meet the requirement last year.
We will continue to evaluate ways to increase the number of timely filings in the future. Please contact DuaneWalz@sao.wa.gov for questions or suggestions.
