Sally is a new cashier for the county's district court. On her first day, she pockets some cash and posts an adjustment to the customer's account. No one notices, so she does it again the next day and the one after that. No one is reviewing her work, so days turn into years, and what started as a petty theft turns into a multi-thousand dollar fraud.
A successful financial reporting season is one where you act to achieve your objectives rather than react to problems. To get there, you need the right kind of planning so you can spot the trouble ahead and take control early. Performing an annual risk assessment may be the ticket to help you achieve a successful reporting season.
As part of “Cascadia Rising”—a series of exercises from June 13 to 16 to test Washington and Oregon's response and recovery capabilities to catastrophic earthquakes—SAO has compiled some steps governments can take to financially prepare for potentially large earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Did you know that Washington state has the largest locally controlled port system in the world? And not all of those ports are on the water. Ports also operate airports, railroads, business parks and industrial sites.
In this latest addition to SAO's #Gov 101 series, we explore Washington's 80 port districts, including how they're governed, how they finance their operations, and how you can participate at your local port district.
Originally published June 2, 2022. Updated August 9, 2023.
As local governments experience staffing shortages, such as for law enforcement, correction officers, paramedics, utility linemen and many others, existing employees may work increased overtime. Monitoring overtime is important, so we’re republishing this article that provides you with tools to do it.
Originally published May 26, 2022
Updated September 6, 2023
Local governments track many assets with multiple objectives in mind. Whether your objective is accurate and complete financial reporting or safeguarding public assets, tracking all of your government's assets can quickly become a pain.
Spring has sprung, and it's time to start cleaning up your financial records from years' past! Why not tackle the messy buildup in your vendor master file? This database file containing information about your government's vendors needs a periodic scrubbing.
Piggybacking is the ability to use another government's bid award without going through your own competitive process. It can be complicated, which is why we have updated our guide—Piggybacking under Washington State Law—to address your most common questions and alert you to changes in our guidance.
Before you go to the grocery store, do you make a list to ensure you purchase everything you need?