Announcements

OLYMPIA – An audit released today provides the first, high-level accounting of some of the circumstances surrounding the major fraud scheme that targeted Washington state's unemployment benefits in the spring.

As part of its annual audit of the state's financial statements, the Office of the Washington State Auditor found that the Employment Security Department (ESD) did not have adequate internal controls to prevent the fraud. The Department also reported inaccurate fraud and recovery numbers for the state's financial statements.

You might see some red flags on the Schedule 01 that you haven't seen before. In previous years, you might have received a yellow flag with the error message: “This BARS account may not be allowable in this fund type.” Starting in 2021 (reporting year 2020), we have changed this yellow flag to a red flag. To help local governments with this new error message, we have compiled a list of all BARS accounts that will be affected and their applicable fund types. Red flags must be corrected before submitting your annual report.

The BARS Manuals (GAAP and Cash) are being updated beginning today.

During the updates, sections of both online BARS Manuals will be unavailable for your use. Once updated, they will be fully available for accounting and reporting guidance related to fiscal year 2020 and forward.

We will notify local government audit contacts via email when the BARS Manuals have been fully updated.

Beginning in 2021, a committee that advises the Office of the Washington State Auditor will be more representative of government types across the state.

It's an understatement to say that COVID-19 has presented significant challenges this year. We have witnessed its devastating effects physically, prompting us to take extra health precautions and increase virus testing. At the same time, it's important to take precautions fiscally to ensure local governments maintain financial health. With decreased revenue and increased costs, local governments must be especially vigilant and use reputable resources and tools to inform them when making difficult financial decisions.

The BARS Manuals (GAAP and cash) are being updated beginning December 14, 2020.

During the updates, sections of both online BARS Manuals will be unavailable for your use. Once updated, they will be fully available for accounting and reporting guidance related to fiscal year 2020 and forward.

If you need anything from the BARS Manuals for fiscal year 2019 accounting and reporting, please visit the applicable BARS Manual and download your copy today.

How do you download your copy?

GAAP BARS Manual:

Today, we published an interactive report on special education funding in Washington, as authorized under Enhanced Second Substitute Senate Bill 5091. Special education helps about 143,000 Washington students succeed in our school system.

The State Auditor's Office is changing some of the emails we send every week to better align with cybersecurity best practices.

Beginning the week of Nov. 9, emails we send related to the publication of audit reports no longer will contain attachments nor embedded links. We are working to reduce the number of potential targets for attack by cyber-criminals while maintaining timely communication with you.

Email messages that alert recipients when we publish reports will now have two features:

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.