The Audit Connection Blog
Sharing your federal money with other agencies? Do your homework first
With the recent and continued influx of federal funding, you might make more subawards than in the past. Passing along your money to others doesn’t relieve you of grant compliance requirements – it actually adds responsibilities for you to monitor your subgrantees. ... CONTINUE READING
FIT Data Stories: What does FIT tell us about Cash balances in Cash-basis cities
Cash is the heartbeat of government operations, especially for smaller cash basis governments. For better or worse, without cash there is no government spending. And without spending, there are no government services. As the old saying goes – cash is king! So how much cash is needed to keep a cash –basis government’s operations humming? The proper amount of “cash balance sufficiency” (CBS) for a government depends on each government’s spending priorities and what it hopes to accomplish for its citizens. ... CONTINUE READING
Which governments' 2020 data is included in FIT?
The Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) has been updated with fiscal year 2020 data submitted by local governments! As of June 30, 2021, our Office received 100 percent of the 2020 annual reports from nine government types. Interested in who they are and how other government types are progressing? This interactive infogram provides you all the facts. ... CONTINUE READING
Does your government sell electricity? If so, new audit engagements are coming your way
The Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) requires the Office of the State Auditor to audit consumer-owned utilities’ compliance with the requirements of RCW 19.405 and the related administrative rules adopted by the Washington Department of Commerce under WAC 194-40. Like the existing Energy Independence Act, our Office is responsible for auditing utility compliance, and the Attorney General’s Office is responsible for enforcing that compliance. ... CONTINUE READING
Making the most of your new technology
During the past year, you have worked hard with your team to keep existing services going and rolling out new services quickly. From reimagining service delivery to taking paper-based, internal processes on-line, 2020 was a year of non-stop change. ... CONTINUE READING
Top 12 most important financial policies
According to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), it’s a best practice for governments to formally adopt financial policies. We couldn’t agree more. Financial policies create expectations for government operations, provide a foundation for making financial decisions and help ensure good financial management. Here are the top 12 we consider essential. ... CONTINUE READING
Think you're too small to segregate duties? Let's find out!
Just because your government has a small staff does not mean it is impossible to implement this important internal control. It mostly depends on the decisions you make. Segregating duties is not an ‘all or nothing concept’ – you can segregate responsibilities as much as you can and then fill in any gaps with oversight controls. ... CONTINUE READING
How to get your team ready for the next wave of change
We are now getting to the point where both staff and the public are starting to anticipate a return to normal operations. As we head that direction, the pressing questions will become: What changes we made during the pandemic do we keep? Which changes should we undo? And which changes aren’t working well but the old way wasn’t working either? After a year of unpredictable change, more change is coming, but now we can more proactively manage that change. ... CONTINUE READING
It's time for spring cleaning!
Spring is a time of renewal and energy, plants come alive and start to bloom, the green grasses grow, and the air has a fresh, clean scent. Spring is a great time to dust off the cobwebs of last year, and start afresh. If you’ve filed your annual report, then it’s a good time to kick off some spring cleaning at your workplace. Here are some ideas for you to consider. ... CONTINUE READING
Do your internal controls have a first name?
Do you ever wonder if a key control can be a person? Maybe you have a long-standing employee that everyone goes to for answers, or perhaps an employee that really knows and understands a certain process. People are most certainly an important part of the control system, and governments benefit from these valuable employees that contribute so much. When asked about your internal controls by an auditor, however, your response should not be the name of a person. ... CONTINUE READING