The Audit Connection Blog
K&P leadership series: Inspiring a shared vision
What could be more rewarding than creating a strategic vision and leading a unified group into the future? The answer is walking with your group into a future that you designed together. That’s what is possible when you “Inspire a Shared Vision,” which is one of the five behaviors in the Kouzes and Posner (K&P) Leadership Challenge. ... CONTINUE READING
Suspect a loss of public resources? What to expect when working with SAO
When you suspect or detect a loss, it can be stressful and challenging to figure out what steps you should take. SAO is here to guide you on how to handle potential losses; working together with our office will help you decide what steps to take, and hopefully, decrease the stress of the situation. ... CONTINUE READING
State Auditor’s Office releases City of Seattle audit
Today the State Auditor’s Office released an accountability audit of the City of Seattle, which included a review of the city’s contract with Freedom Project and its subcontractor, King County Equity Now. ... CONTINUE READING
What to do after hitting submit: Steps for increasing data-quality confidence
After hours of time and energy, you’ve submitted your annual report for fiscal year 2020. Congratulations! Now you may be asking, “Is there anything more I can do?” Our answer is, “Yes!” ... CONTINUE READING
Washington State Auditor will require COVID-19 vaccinations for staff
Today Gov. Inslee announced most state employees will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment, and he encouraged separately elected officials to adopt the same approach. ... CONTINUE READING
K&P leadership series: Linking Lean and leadership
This article is the first in a series meant to demonstrate how the Kouzes and Posner leadership model connects to Lean principles bringing more success and personal satisfaction to people dedicated enough to follow them both. Today’s article summarizes the five K&P behaviors or practices of exemplary leadership. Future articles will expand on how these practices connect to specific Lean principles to gain followers and improve leadership results. ... CONTINUE READING
Medicaid Special Report 2021: A financial checkup for Washington’s Apple Health
State and federal governments invested more than $14.6 billion in Medicaid – known as Apple Health in Washington – during fiscal year 2020. With one in four Washingtonians enrolled, Medicaid is one of the most important services the state funds. As one of the state’s major expenditures, accountability for Medicaid spending is critical. ... CONTINUE READING
Larger governments struggle with segregating duties, too
It’s easy to assume larger local governments have no problems fully implementing best practices for segregation of duties. While segregating duties can be easier for larger governments with more employees, they can struggle with the process, too. The State Auditor’s Office has some suggestions for navigating challenges on your journey to segregating duties! ... CONTINUE READING
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