Announcements

Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy announced Friday she will donate a scheduled salary increase to charity.

McCarthy's scheduled annual increase of $4,000 begins July 1. State law does not allow elected officials to return cost-of-living increases, so McCarthy will donate hers to The Other Bank. It distributes personal hygiene and cleaning items to more than 13,000 low-income individuals and families in Thurston and surrounding counties each year. Items from The Other Bank cannot be purchased with food stamps, and about a third of the recipients are children.

Greetings,

Late Wednesday, June 17, legislative leadership surprised us with a second extension of the annual financial report filing deadline.

The new filing deadline is July 1.

State Auditor Pat McCarthy notified Gov.

Greetings,

As promised, I wanted to let you know as soon as possible that a limited extension of the annual financial report filing deadline has been approved by legislative leadership. The new filing deadline is June 17.

The Camas-Washougal Economic Development Association resisted audits for years, lost public funds and lacked even basic financial documentation since its inception, the Office of the Washington State Auditor found in two reports issued today.

“Public funds need oversight and they need regular audits. Unfortunately, this is an example of the danger to tax dollars and public trust when accountability is shortchanged,” said State Auditor Pat McCarthy. “I hope it serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency and independent auditing, regardless of circumstance.”

I want to share an important update with you. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) voted Thursday, May 7 to delay implementation of several new accounting standards. The decision by GASB takes effect immediately, and comes in response to requests by governments across the country as they grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

Take a trip through 2019 with the Office of the Washington State Auditor, tracking public dollars and exploring good government. The annual report this year is entirely digital – one more way we've changed our approach to sharing information during the pandemic.

We provide an objective examination of every government in Washington: every state agency, city, school district and much more. Each year, we issue thousands of reports that detail the results of many different kinds of audits. Let's hit the (virtual) road for a look at the numbers and what they mean.

First, thank you for all of your work over the past several weeks. Because of the efforts of Washingtonians from every corner of the state and every sector of the economy, we have seen hopeful signs in our fight against this pandemic. While we are by no means done, I think all of us can feel a sense of pride in what Washington has accomplished so far.

Second, I want share some guidance and updates from the State Auditor's Office.

The most important advice we are sharing with all our audit clients in state and local government comes down to one action word: document.

The State Auditor's Office has been working hard to find solutions to accommodate statutory and regulatory deadlines governments face, in light of the current emergency situation in our state. In that effort we have reached out to Gov. Inslee, and received assurances from his office, so we can address one issue through emergency declaration.

As all of Washington responds to the threat of COVID-19, I wanted to reach out to our partners in good government and let you know some steps the State Auditor's Office (SAO) is taking related to our audits of state agencies and local governments.