The Audit Connection Blog
Use our updated Best Practices for Tracking Small and Attractive Assets today, to prevent your assets from walking away tomorrow
Most governments own a variety of assets that they track and inventory, beyond what they do for financial reporting purposes. We call them small and attractive assets here in Washington state, and they tend to mysteriously disappear more than other asset types, due to their portability and attractiveness for personal use. Our updated guide, Best Practices for Small and Attractive Assets can help you navigate your options – so that you can develop a policy and set of internal controls that works for you. ... CONTINUE READING
Performance audit identifies key strategies to recruit and retain special education staff
A performance audit from the State Auditor's Office looked into the causes for why school districts across the state struggle to recruit and retain sufficient special education teachers and staff. The report offers some possible practices to improve recruitment and retention of special education employees. ... CONTINUE READING
Auditors find nearly $900,000 misappropriation at Office of Administrative Hearings
The State Auditor's Office found an employee at the Office of Administrative Hearings misappropriated nearly $900,000 through fraudulent credit card purchases. ... CONTINUE READING
Annual audit of Washington’s spending finds state continues to struggle to meet federal rules and resolve repeat issues
The State Auditor's Office's 2023 single audit issued a record 86 findings—half of which relate to unresolved issues from prior audits—and we are questioning close to $1.2 billion in costs. View our infographic for a summary of how state agencies spent federal money, and how Washington can improve its compliance with federal rules. ... CONTINUE READING
The state of fraud in local governments: a candid Q&A with SAO’s Brandi Pritchard
Misappropriation of public funds and fraud cases have surged in just the past year due to remote work, artificial intelligence and other factors. ProPublica recently spoke with SAO’s Brandi Pritchard to find out more in a candid Q&A interview. ... CONTINUE READING
Thank you for filing your fiscal year 2023 annual report on time
Our Office would like to thank every local government that filed its fiscal year 2023 annual report on time! This year, about 86 percent of local governments met the annual filing deadline (more than 1500 total), proving once again that compliance, accountability and transparency matter in Washington state. ... CONTINUE READING
The Office of the Washington State Auditor's cyber checkups, leaders earn national honors
The National State Auditors Association (NSAA) honored SAO’s cyber checkup program with its 2024 Excellence in Accountability Award for special projects at its annual conference earlier this month. NSAA also awarded its Distinguished Service Award to Scott Frank, SAO’s Director of Performance and Information Technology Audits. ... CONTINUE READING
Town of Cusick becomes a lesson in the importance of following audit recommendations
Five years ago, the Office of the Washington State Auditor advised the town of Cusick that it had inadequate controls over its payroll and credit cards. Had the small government followed its audit recommendations then, it likely could have avoided more recent, and much larger, losses. ... CONTINUE READING
Quick tips on how to monitor your collection agency
It’s fairly common for local governments to use a collection agency in some capacity, such as to collect outstanding fees or fines, but how do you know if they’re doing a good job? Our latest blog post includes quick tips for local governments to help monitor their agency and evaluate its performance. ... CONTINUE READING
A special-edition SAO newsletter just for schools and school districts
As part of our participation in the 2024 Washington Association of School Business Officials (WASBO) annual conference in Tacoma, we’ve put together a special-edition Audit Connection newsletter filled with the latest news on financial reporting and auditing issues specifically for schools and school districts including tools and resources to help improve internal controls, deter and detect fraud, shore up cybersecurity, and more. ... CONTINUE READING