Skamania County receives a State Auditor's Office Stewardship Award

State Auditor Pat McCarthy, County Treasurer Vickie Clelland, Financial Management Officer Heidi Penner, County Auditor Robert Waymire

 

State Auditor Pat McCarthy recognized Skamania County's dedication to making government work better and its commitment to the audit process today with a State Auditor's Office Stewardship Award. Specifically, the County Auditor's Office, Treasurer's Office and Office of Financial Management have worked together to improve County processes and strengthen internal controls over the past several years.

Although these are standalone offices, we have observed them cooperating and helping one another as needed to implement audit recommendations. This was demonstrated by Treasurer Vickie Clelland and Auditor Robert Waymire collaborating to implement a comprehensive accounting system that serves as a single, reliable access point for revenue and expenditure data.

These officials also have worked to strengthen internal controls over the County's financial reporting. Exemplifying this, the Treasurer's Office changed its processes and reduced the County's number of individual bank accounts from 71 to 19. In addition, these County officials have worked to implement additional review processes and reconciliations, resulting in more efficient financial statement audits.

The County also has implemented processes to effectively monitor its financial condition. This effort has been overseen by Heidi Penner in the Office of Financial Management. Overall, the availability and quality of information that is provided to the Commissioners has been greatly improved.

It is clear that Skamania County officials, management and staff want to be accountable to Washington citizens and good stewards of public funds. They understand the value of our audits and have fostered a positive and professional working relationship with the Washington State Auditor's Office.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the citizens of Washington.