COVID-19

What's the best advice we can give you regarding use of and documentation for CARES Act funding? Document, document, and document some more. These funds should be treated just like any other federal award, which means their use should comply with the terms and conditions of the award and the Uniform Guidance. The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided some additional guidance and some exemptions to Uniform Guidance in its memorandums. OMB has stressed the requirement to maintain appropriate records to support costs charged to federal awards.

Many local governments found themselves abruptly thrust into the world of online meetings when state-level mandates to prevent the spread of coronavirus forced them to cancel in-person events. After several months' experience, you might be reconsidering your initial choice. We have assembled a list of five things to consider when choosing an online meeting platform.

Processing documents such as vendor invoices and employee timesheets involves frequent approvals. It can be inefficient to pass around paper for these purposes, so electronic options are attractive to many. Some local governments moved to electronic approvals already, using features in their financial software systems, while the pandemic and teleworking has others exploring options now.

In late March, we told you about flexibility in the single audit reporting deadline offered by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to those entities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. OMB's memorandum

We know that moving to paperless processes has been a goal for some local governments. If you were on the fence, the pandemic might be prompting you to explore your options now. Here is some information we frequently share when asked about going paperless.

Where to find guidance

Many of you are attempting to anticipate the length or depth of the financial impacts of the pandemic. This will be difficult to predict, which makes financial planning challenging. One important tool available to help you in these circumstances is scenario planning.

Scenario planning is the purposeful act of preparing forecasts based on different underlying assumptions. It might include a worst case, a best case, and maybe two more possibilities in between.

Why you should use scenario planning

Colleagues, the hard work of accountability that you achieve with regular auditing has never been more important. Audits give reassurance to taxpayers and governments alike as we face an economic slump deeper than anything since the Great Depression. Especially when public programs like health care and emergency services are in high demand, this transparency is essential.

With the Association of Washington Cities hosting its conference this week – via video conference – we curated this latest issue of our regular newsletter with an eye toward municipalities, aiming to address the questions and needs they might have.

Click on the image below to see articles regarding accounting and reporting changes caused by COVID-19, new resources for cities, online training and more!

The Center for Government Innovation, a service to local governments provided by the Washington State Auditor's Office, has been working hard to bring some new resources to local governments, including cities. We'd like to tell you about a few new items, plus what's on the near horizon to be published!

Just released: Cash Receipting Guide

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.