Local governments

As you enter into new federal award agreements this year, keep in mind they will likely have reporting requirements. We first ran this article in March 2022, but due to its importance, we're republishing it as a reminder. 

Almost every federal program award requires recipients to file reports, which could include financial, performance and other special purpose reporting. Awarding agencies rely on these reports to ensure recipients used federal funds to achieve program objectives, which helps them make future funding decisions. 

Published: March 16, 2022

It's not uncommon for a government to have multiple bank or investment accounts with different staff or departments reconciling them. That's okay, but keep in mind there can be risks when different people are involved with reconciling several accounts.

This weekend marks the start of daylight saving time, and we all know the drill: Change your clocks and the batteries in your smoke alarms. But how often are you testing your government's backup file system? With the rapid rise in phishing and ransomware schemes, the biannual time change can also serve as a handy reminder to perform this critical task.

Disbursing duplicate payments to vendors for the same goods or services can be costly for your government. According to industry experts, the number of duplicate payments organizations make ranges from .8 percent to 2 percent of their total payments. These percentages might seem small, but they can reflect thousands of dollars being paid to vendors in error.

This is the fourth article of our six-part power of a problem series. Missed the last article? Read it here.

This is the third article of our six-part power of a problem series. Missed the last article? Read it here.

This is the second article of our six-part power of a problem series. Missed the introductory article? Read it here.

Properly accounting for capital assets is complex and requires significant accounting resources. That's why we've redesigned our Checklist for Capital Assets and added questions to help you avoid the common mistakes we see during audits.

As a manager, you've likely come to think of problems as bad things. They are something you need to get rid of or fix as quickly as possible. Problems cause pain, anxiety and stress—for you, your staff and your organization. So it's only natural to view problems with a wary eye and a sigh before you cast about for a quick solution to make them go away.

Washington's state and local governments possess countless IT systems that provide critical government services and handle vital and sometimes very personal data. The public expects government to do all it can to ensure that these systems are secure so critical services can be delivered and data stored in those systems is not lost, stolen or damaged.

The State Auditor's Office plays a unique role in keeping an independent eye on government IT security. We work with state and local governments to help improve their cybersecurity programs through audits and outreach activities.