A message from State Auditor Pat McCarthy: Annual financial report filing deadline extended

May 29, 2020

Greetings,

As promised, I wanted to let you know as soon as possible that a limited extension of the annual financial report filing deadline has been approved by legislative leadership. The new filing deadline is June 17.

We received this extension at the last moment, and I want to recognize the local governments that managed to file with our office ahead of the existing deadline. The good news is about 80 percent of the 1,800 local governments required to file have done so or are in the process of filing. Annual reports are a cornerstone of financial transparency in Washington, and I believe your communities should be proud of your efforts to file them.

I would also like to thank the Governor and legislative leadership for recognizing the difficulties facing local governments and supporting this deadline extension. We had requested an extension of at least 30 days. However, more than 20 emergency proclamations submitted to legislative leadership were only extended to June 17, which is the date of the next state revenue forecast.

We know that the revenue forecast would not necessarily impact the ability of local governments to file their reports. However, at this time we do not expect further extensions of the deadline.

I encourage you all to file as soon as you are able. Our staff are prepared to help you. The About Filing Online page on our website can provide you access to helpful filing resources, including the library of annual online filing videos. For additional assistance, you can reach our annual filing team via the HelpDesk or LGCSFeedback@sao.wa.gov.

Again, thanks to you all for your continued commitment to accountability, especially during unprecedented times.

Sincerely,

Pat

Previous messages from State Auditor Pat McCarthy

For the latest COVID-19 health guidance, statistics and resources, visit: coronavirus.wa.gov.