Local governments

(Repost from MRSC's blog. Original available here.)

By Toni Nelson, MRSC

Since the original issuance of Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 34 in 1999, the Office of the Washington State Auditor has found the resulting financial statement presentations to be unnecessarily complex, less timely and more costly for state and local governments to prepare and have audited. These presentations are also more challenging to understand.

School districts have asked the State Auditor's Office to let them know in advance the areas they can expect auditors to emphasize in upcoming audits.

The State Auditor's Office is excited to bring back the popular annual report filing workshops. These workshops are designed to help local governments file their annual financial reports, and to meet the statutory requirement of submitting the report within 150 days of the close of their fiscal year.

New this year, participants can select a one-hour time slot for individualized assistance from a Local Government Support Specialist. Laptops will be provided. If you bring the materials you need to file your report, you may be able to complete and file during your appointment.

For the past three years we have worked with the Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) to perform the GASB 68 census data audits at state and local government employers. We have enjoyed working with all of our state and local government partners to complete this important work for our state.

The State Auditor's Office and the Department of Transportation (WSDOT) have been working together supported by the County Road Administration Board and the Washington State Association of Counties to eliminate duplicate reporting.

Imagine your local government's files and documents held for ransom. The risk is greater than you think, with the number of cyber-attacks by ransomware increasing rapidly.

Have you ever used the same password for your work PC as your home banking account or private email? Do you sometimes open email attachments before checking that the message is from someone you know and trust? Maybe you need to be #CyberAware!

Gov. Jay Inslee is recognizing October as Cyber Security Awareness Month, a designation that comes on the heels of a summit between Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty and Guard leaders from other states to help bolster the nation's cybersecurity presence.