The Audit Connection Blog
New resource identifies best practices for small and attractive assets
Recently, the Performance Center provided several resources on accounting for capital assets to help local governments with financial reporting. Another group of assets, which fall below a government’s capitalization threshold, should also be considered when establishing and evaluating asset policies and other internal controls. In Washington, we frequently refer to these as “small and attractive assets,” but they these could be described using different terminology. For example, the Government Finance Officers Association refers to them as “controlled capital-type items” in its best practice guidance. ... CONTINUE READING
Don't miss this upcoming free webinar "Cybersecurity Essentials for Local Government Leaders!"
Presented by the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) and sponsored by the State Auditor’s Office Performance Center, this webinar is for elected officials, managers, information technology and other staff working to keep electronic systems safe from outside interference. Share this information with your co-workers and elected officials in order to get the most out of this opportunity! ... CONTINUE READING
Recent GAO report underscores the need for cybersecurity auditing
The federal counterpart to the Office of the Washington State Auditor, the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on Tuesday demonstrating the vitally important role of cybersecurity auditing in the information age. Vulnerabilities in government systems can be exploited by criminals looking to harm the public, as detailed in the GAO’s audit findings. ... CONTINUE READING
How to build a "resilient cybersecurity culture" for your government
Governments are vulnerable to cybersecurity breeches. In this way, they don't vary much from private-sector businesses, whose sometimes spectacular cybersecurity failings grab headlines. So, as a government with limited resources, how do you prepare for the inevitability of some bad actor trying to access sensitive information? ... CONTINUE READING
Know what to look for to prevent disbursement fraud
Fraudulent disbursements are the most common form of asset misappropriation. This type of disbursement occurs when an employee uses their position to make payment for an inappropriate purpose. They are on-book fraud schemes, which means that money in the form of checks leaves the entity fraudulently, but is recorded on the books and leaves an audit trail. In this way, entities can become victims of fraud, even when no cash is involved. ... CONTINUE READING
2018 BARS Roundtables: Save the date
Mark your calendars – we will be offering our Budgeting, Accounting, and Reporting System (BARS) Roundtables again this fall. The Roundtables are free, three-hour sessions that are open to all local governments. ... CONTINUE READING
Keeping elections safe, one audit at a time
Today marks the beginning of October, a month dedicated to the awareness of cybersecurity—a distinction bestowed to October way back in 2003. Here in 2018, 2003 seems light-years away—a dim and distant past when our cybersecurity concerns centered around malicious actors gaining access to our MySpace accounts or Nigerian princes conning us out of our bank account information from the seemingly secure space of a Yahoo email account. How quaint those concerns seem against the undermining of American democracy, a target of some of today’s cybercriminals. ... CONTINUE READING
Helping local governments avoid costly cybersecurity breaches
Our Office is dedicated to helping local and state governments across Washington avoid the potentially devastating effects of cybersecurity attacks. Much of the public data governments hold is sensitive in nature, and needs to be carefully guarded. ... CONTINUE READING
Ensure your bank deposit slips are detailed
We have learned that not all banking institutions are providing a detailed breakout of cash and checks on bank validated deposit slips. If your banking records do not contain the detailed cash/check composition of your deposit, you will want to take corrective action as soon as possible. ... CONTINUE READING
Auditor's Office uses the same Lean methods it teaches to others
Our Office is committed to helping governments improve their operations. One way the Auditor’s Office does that is by leading Lean workshops for governments that ask for help improving a process. However, we also look for ways to improve our own Office as well, and we want to share the results of our process improvement efforts during 2017. ... CONTINUE READING