Center for Government Innovation

Accounts payable is a process that delivers significant payments to vendors for goods and services and keeps local government operational. While the tasks that make up your accounts payable process may seem repetitious and mundane, they serve a critical business function—and they are vulnerable to fraud and error. When was the last time you took a hard look at your accounts payable process to ensure it's still designed appropriately and functioning properly?

The American Rescue Plan Act and the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are sending significant amounts of federal funds to Washington. This means that local governments will be spending more federal funds than ever. If you spend more than $750,000 in federal funds a year, you'll need a Single Audit examining your compliance with the requirements of your program(s).

SAO's resource database offers dozens of free guides, checklists, best practices and tools to help Washington governments improve their internal controls, grant management, procurement practices, financial reporting and cybersecurity. And last week, we replaced it with something better!

Summer is in full swing and, hopefully, you'll enjoy some well-earned time off to relax and recharge your batteries with a peaceful vacation or just some hours on the golf course. Whatever you have planned, don't forget to take time to recharge your leadership battery.

Summer is here, and it's time for swimming, barbecuing and garage sales. If you have ever held a garage sale, you know that cash talks. Cash has the power to convince you to sell your worldly goods, but if you are not careful, it can also vanish into thin air. As auditors, we would say that if cash could really talk, it would tell you to protect it.

Sally is a new cashier for the county's district court. On her first day, she pockets some cash and posts an adjustment to the customer's account. No one notices, so she does it again the next day and the one after that. No one is reviewing her work, so days turn into years, and what started as a petty theft turns into a multi-thousand dollar fraud.

A successful financial reporting season is one where you act to achieve your objectives rather than react to problems. To get there, you need the right kind of planning so you can spot the trouble ahead and take control early. Performing an annual risk assessment may be the ticket to help you achieve a successful reporting season.

As part of “Cascadia Rising”—a series of exercises from June 13 to 16 to test Washington and Oregon's response and recovery capabilities to catastrophic earthquakes—SAO has compiled some steps governments can take to financially prepare for potentially large earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Did you know that Washington state has the largest locally controlled port system in the world? And not all of those ports are on the water. Ports also operate airports, railroads, business parks and industrial sites.

In this latest addition to SAO's #Gov 101 series, we explore Washington's 80 port districts, including how they're governed, how they finance their operations, and how you can participate at your local port district.

Originally published June 2, 2022. Updated August 9, 2023.

As local governments experience staffing shortages, such as for law enforcement, correction officers, paramedics, utility linemen and many others, existing employees may work increased overtime. Monitoring overtime is important, so we’re republishing this article that provides you with tools to do it.