Because our Office has fielded questions from local governments about the sometimes-confusing fiscal relationship between Washington counties and the special purpose districts (SPDs) they serve (like fire districts and public hospital districts), we researched the topic to clarify the relevant statutory requirements. You can find the Requirements of countie
There is much to think about when employees leave your employment, including hiring and training the new employee and divvying up duties in the meantime. Human resources might refer to this as “offboarding.” You might have someone complete a checklist to ensure departing employees return items like ID badges, building keys, cell phones or computers.
Below is more information about each of SAO's updated procurement resources, and the improvements made.
This guide sets out the basics of purchasing and bidding to help you comply with state law, no matter your government type, size or complexity. This update includes several changes to improve clarity and ensure compliance. In this update, we’ve:
If there is one accounting task you should not skip, it is completing your bank account reconciliation. When you perform this important task, you ensure bank transactions match those in your accounting records. This critical step can identify fraud, flag bank errors and highlight mistakes; ultimately leading to more accurate accounting records and financial information.
Segregation of duties, or separating conflicting duty assignments in your government, can help protect your local government's assets. But which duties do you segregate, and what are your options if you cannot feasibly do this? What if you are a very small entity with limited resources?
Your favorite State Auditor’s Office is all over social sharing interesting tidbits about our work, staff, podcasts, breaking news…and of course our unofficial mascot, Theo the Wonder Corgi (duh).
Follow along on your favorite social media listed here, and remember to visit our SAO Social Media page in the future for the most updated links. Happy scrolling!
A new year has begun, which means it's time for cash-basis governments to close out last year and begin preparing annual financial reports. Annual reports for local governments with fiscal year ending 12/31 are due to the Office of the Washington State Auditor by May 30, 2026.
Here in Washington, local leaders go by many names – Councilmember, Commissioner, Mayor and many more. Regardless of your title or the size of your local government, leadership plays a key role in ensuring your government’s cybersecurity success. Fortunately, our Center for Government Innovation has updated its cybersecurity guide for Washington’s leaders.
Since 2016, Washington’s governments have reported more than $37 million of lost public funds as a result of cyberfraud, sometimes referred to as phishing, spearfishing or business email compromise schemes. In these schemes, an external threat actor contacts the government, appearing to be a known source such as an employee, upper-level manager, vendor or other business associate. Government staff are convinced to redirect valid payments to the external threat actor, or to purchase gift cards and provide them with the card numbers.
The Office of the Washington State Auditor has investigated many losses of public funds that governments could have detected sooner – if only someone had looked at their bank statements. Whether you are a finance professional, a department head, or even an elected or appointed official, regularly reviewing your monthly statements can greatly increase the odds of deterring and detecting fraud.