Announcements

The Washington Association of School Business Officials (WASBO) is hosting its annual conference this week in Spokane. SAO representatives will be there in person, sharing the latest news on financial reporting and auditing issues.

As is our custom, we've created an Audit Connection newsletter designed just for schools and school districts. Those at the conference should stop by SAO's booth for a hard copy. We've also included it here as an interactive issue and downloadable PDF for easy digital reference. See the last page of the PDF for printing instructions.

From accurate and prompt billing to well-designed collection procedures, accounts receivable requires a robust set of internal controls to ensure your government collects the money it is owed. A strong accounts receivable process can result in higher revenue for your government, while a weak process can lead to wasted staff time, accounting errors and lost revenue. When was the last time you took a close look at your accounts receivable?

The State Auditor's Office is the first in the nation to routinely audit investigations of police use of deadly force by comparing them to state rules and professional best practices. This past week, Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation to give auditors greater access to information in that work.

In 2022, just one new local government fell into unauditable status and three others were removed from the category, continuing progress toward accounting for the public finances of all of Washington's 2,300 local governments.

A new year-end report by the Office of the Washington State Auditor identified six local governments that failed to provide basic financial records and cooperate with an audit—meeting the definition of an unauditable government. Five of those governments were also deemed unauditable the previous year.

Updated: Jan 5, 2023

The State Auditor's Office has finished updating the GAAP and Cash Basis BARS Manuals.

As the year comes to an end, we invite you to explore the interactive annual report for fiscal year 2022 below to learn more about our work with local governments and state agencies to ensure accountability and transparency for public resources.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 1, 2022

OLYMPIA – The Pierce County Housing Authority has taken steps to improve its financial safeguards since a $7 million misappropriation two years ago, but more needs to be done, according to an accountability audit released today by the Office of the Washington State Auditor.

Updated: Dec 12, 2022

The State Auditor's Office will be updating the BARS Manuals (GAAP and Cash) beginning Monday, Dec. 12, 2022.

During the updates, sections of both online BARS Manuals will be unavailable for your use. Once updated, they will be fully available for accounting and reporting guidance related to fiscal year 2022 and forward.

We will notify local government audit contacts via email when the BARS Manuals have been fully updated.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 21, 2022

OLYMPIA – Today the Office of the Washington State Auditor released a regular accountability audit of the Toppenish School District, identifying multiple areas of concern related to the Superintendent and wrestling activities.

Among the findings, auditors determined the District:

State Auditor Pat McCarthy with Janel Roper, SAO's Director of Administrative Services. Roper is a 2022 recipient of the Governor's Award for Leadership in Management.