The Audit Connection Blog - Page 43 of 48 - Office of the Washington State Auditor

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Pensions and other postemployment benefits (OPEB) update

December 18, 2017

The GAAP and cash basis BARS manuals have been updated, and the 2017 pension worksheet, notes and RSI templates are now available on our website at www.sao.wa.gov. The 2017 DRS Participating Employer Financial Information (PEFI) report is available at www.drs.wa.gov. Now that you have the information and tools you need to begin calculating your 2017 pension numbers, this is a great time to get started. As in the past, our Office will provide one-on-one assistance to local governments with their calculations.

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BARS Manual receives regular update for 2018

December 13, 2017

It’s that time of year again! The updated 2018 version of the Budgeting, Accounting and Reporting System (BARS) Manual will be available on our website in the third week of December. While users may notice several changes in this update, the most significant revision to the 2018 BARS Manual centers on reporting schedules for cities and counties, and specifically Schedule 07 – Cash Disbursements, and Schedule 11 – Cash Activity. A new schedule, Schedule 06 – Summary of Bank Reconciliation, makes an appearance in the 2018 cash-basis manual to accommodate those changes to Schedules 07 and 11.

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Auditor McCarthy discusses her first year in Office: interview with Austin Jenkins

December 8, 2017

State Auditor Pat McCarthy sat down with TVW’s Austin Jenkins in Olympia this week to talk about her first year in Office. Since taking Office in early 2017 as the 11th State Auditor and first elected woman Auditor, McCarthy has emphasized the importance of the Office’s role in creating government transparency. “The Office is the public’s window into government,” McCarthy told Jenkins. Watch the full interview for more information on a variety of topics, including increasing accountability audits and cybersecurity efforts.

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Local governments turn to Office of the Washington State Auditor for cybersecurity help

December 8, 2017

Did you know that the State Auditor offers free, in-depth evaluations of local government’s cybersecurity systems? In an article published today, the Pew Charitable Trust details the cutting-edge role the Washington State Auditor has in ensuring the IT system security of local governments around the state.

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Change Management, Lesson Two

November 3, 2017

Have you ever attended a training at work only to find you are expected to adopt the new technique next week? Chances are this has happened to you — how did it go?

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Inside the Auditor’s request for funding for additional accountability audits

November 2, 2017

The Office of the Washington State Auditor has asked the Legislature for $700,000 to pay for more accountability audits of state agencies, one of Auditor Pat McCarthy’s initiatives to increase transparency and accountability in government. You can read the full request here.

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Pre-proposal statement of inquiry: rule making

October 18, 2017

The State Auditor’s Office filed with the Code Reviser’s Office the notice to begin the rule making process to amend WAC 48-13 Access to Public Records.

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State Auditor’s Office leads national IT auditing conference

October 16, 2017

As state and local governments increasingly depend on information technology (IT) systems to serve the public, the need to audit the controls in and around these systems increases.

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Don’t overlook changes to fiduciary activity reporting

October 12, 2017

After observing that governments were reporting fiduciary activities inconsistently, in January 2017 the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) released Statement No. 84, Fiduciary Activities.

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Financial management policies and resources

September 29, 2017

Implementing effective internal financial policies can be challenging for local governments of any size, which is why the Performance Center teamed up with the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) to simplify the process.

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