The Audit Connection Blog
Keep the conversation going forward
Do you ever feel like you keep having the same conversations about shared projects over and over? You spend half your time just talking about the same ideas you chewed on last time with little forward progress. And now with the addition of a video conference platform, conversations can feel even more frustrating and less productive. What can you do? This article will introduce three continuous improvement tools that focus on helping a team make incremental progress. ... CONTINUE READING
Video reviews change management model
Did you know we published blog series on change management in 2020? If you did and followed along (and even if you didn’t) check out this short video that reviews the ADKAR model of change management. ... CONTINUE READING
Recently filed your 2020 annual report? Check out your data in FIT.
If you are a local government user, the Financial Intelligence Tool’s (FIT) role-based functionality allows you to access your 2020 data right now! ... CONTINUE READING
Help is on the way! Checklist for Preparing Cash Basis Financial Statements updated
We know a strong internal control system is important for accurate financial reporting. Not sure where to start? Don’t worry ― we have a tool for cash basis reporters that can help. ... CONTINUE READING
Visualizing Washington's Unemployment Benefit Programs in 2020
This presentation tells the story of Washington's Unemployment Insurance program during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, from the first American coronavirus patient diagnosed January 21 through the end of the year. ... CONTINUE READING
Vulnerabilities in federal law, gaps in state fraud detection led to losses in unemployment insurance program, audits find
Emergency federal unemployment programs launched early in the COVID-19 pandemic included provisions that opened state unemployment benefits to fraud, the Office of the Washington State Auditor found in three audits released today. ... CONTINUE READING
Spring 2021 newsletter now available
We curated this latest issue of our regular newsletter to make it easy to find key information from this blog, all in one place! Please download or share with colleagues who might find it valuable. ... CONTINUE READING
Cash Basis BARS, PEBB participating governments likely have an Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability to report on their Schedule 09
The most common OPEB benefit provided by some local governments is through the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) plan. This plan provides OPEB benefits through implicit and explicit rate subsidies for retirees. Even though retirees pay 100 percent of their premiums, that payment is not the full cost of the benefits. Retirees pay less because participating employers like you pay a little extra. That little extra is OPEB. ... CONTINUE READING
FIT Data Stories: Sales tax
Sales tax represents about a quarter of all city and town revenues, but did you know that three Washington cities or towns derive more than 50 percent of their total revenues from sales tax? Can you guess which ones and why? Unlock the answers to these questions and a world of other sales tax data stories by opening our interactive infographic based on data from the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT). ... CONTINUE READING
Countdown to the annual report filing date has begun!
The countdown to the May 30th annual report filing date has begun. Interested in the progress local governments are making to meet this reporting deadline? Check out our interactive infographic to see how local governments across the state are doing. ... CONTINUE READING