FIT

Those familiar with the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) from SAO’s Center for Government Innovation know it has plenty of horsepower: It includes a decade’s worth of financial data for nearly 2,000 local governments, along with a ton of different ways to sort, filter and arrange this insightful information. (In fact, our Office is statutorily required to publish this data to the public and FIT’s how we do it.) 
   

SAO's latest performance audit report looked at the Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) contracting processes for tolling. While that audit didn't involve local governments, WSDOT plays a large role in how they obtain state resources to improve local road systems. This got staff in SAO's Center for Government Innovation thinking about how much transportation funding WSDOT distributes statewide.

The Office of the Washington State Auditor is excited to announce the addition of school district financial data to our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT). Before we make this data available to the public, we are inviting school districts to preview their data and become familiar with how to use the tool.

We've updated the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) with local governments' fiscal year 2021 data. As of June 30, our Office received more than 90 percent of local government annual report filings. This includes 100 percent of the 2021 annual reports from local governments in Asotin and Garfield counties and 90 percent of the state's 324 fire districts.

We're excited to announce the release of new features in our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT)! You'll now have access to more details about local governments' debt and liabilities and a direct link to helpful FIT resources. We've also launched our new live annual filing submission tracker and made several other enhancements for a better user experience.

The Office of the Washington State Auditor is excited to announce the addition of school district financial data to our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) this summer. FIT is a unique and powerful way to visualize and analyze the financial data of Washington's local governments.

Spring is here and so is the annual report filing season. This year's deadline is May 30. Every year, we encourage governments to submit their annual reports on time. Not only does timely filing ensure local governments comply with state law, it demonstrates our shared commitment to accountability and transparency in government.

This year, we bring you a refreshed way to view filing progress across the state. Powered by SAO's Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT), our new infographic updates daily as we approach the deadline.

You've heard the old adage that good food comes from quality ingredients. The same could be said about your government's annual report: it's only as good as the data that goes into it. As you prepare to file your annual report this year, remember that there are many consumers of your financial data and its accuracy is important.

With the new year comes new annual report filings. Our second quarterly update of the 2020 fiscal year financial data in the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) includes more governments so you can see where public money comes from and where it goes.

In this bonus edition of our FIT Data Stories series on COVID-19's effect on our cities and towns' revenues, we use our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) to take a deep dive into how the pandemic affected Washington's border towns and special districts. Scroll through our interactive infographic to get a better picture of the pandemic's financial effect on our state.