Unauditable Governments

In 2022, just one new local government fell into unauditable status and three others were removed from the category, continuing progress toward accounting for the public finances of all of Washington's 2,300 local governments.

A new year-end report by the Office of the Washington State Auditor identified six local governments that failed to provide basic financial records and cooperate with an audit—meeting the definition of an unauditable government. Five of those governments were also deemed unauditable the previous year.

The number of unauditable governments in Washington has dropped dramatically, leaving only eight that have failed to provide basic financial records and cooperate with an audit by the Office of the Washington State Auditor.

Today, the Office of the Washington State Auditor issued reports declaring three small local governments unauditable, bringing the total of such reports to seven for 2020. The State Auditor's Office (SAO) also notified local counties of these unauditable governments, a step toward halting their use of tax money, restricting payments for expenditures, and their possible dissolution under a new state law.

Today, the Office of the Washington State Auditor declared three small local governments unauditable, placing them on the path for possible dissolution. Each of the governments had gone for years without either filing its annual financial reports or cooperating with independent audits, both of which are required by law.

These three governments received a report on unauditable government.

Since first reporting on about 40 unauditable governments in May 2019, the number of unauditable governments has been cut by about two-thirds. As of August 2020, only 15 governments have not submitted financial information by their final opportunity to do so. Learn more by viewing this interactive infographic.

State Auditor Pat McCarthy is pleased to announce that dozens of governments deemed unauditable last year have taken steps to comply with state accountability laws, leading to today's publication of completed audits of two governments that had gone without outside review for years.

In response to legislative interest in addressing unauditable governments, the State Auditor's Office recently updated the status of this small group of noncompliant districts.

In May 2019, SAO released a Guide to Unauditable Governments, highlighting a small number of local governments that do not file their annual financial report or allow themselves to be audited – both of which are legally required by law. At the time, about 40 governments – almost all small special purpose districts – were determined “unauditable.”