Staff from the Office of the Washington State Auditor are happy to (virtually) join our colleagues here to connect as we all navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. We have a lot to share with you.
Audit Connection Newsletter, special WFOA edition
Last year, our goal was to maintain the local audit hourly billing rate for two years, through 2021. Although we did not plan for the fiscal challenges of a pandemic, we have determined that, by changing some of our operations and making internal cost adjustments, we will be able to meet our goal and leave the rate unchanged from 2020. However, if any unforeseen significant costs (i.e., COVID-19 or legislative funding changes) occur that we cannot adjust for, a billing adjustment may be necessary.
In May, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) voted to delay implementation of several new accounting standards. The decision by GASB took effect immediately, and came in response to requests by governments across the country grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.
In keeping with our shared commitment to government transparency and accountability, the Office of the Washington State Auditor recently released our new COVID-19 Guidance Toolkit.
You can find it on our website at sao.wa.gov/coronavirus, or click the links on our homepage.
The 2020 Washington Finance Officers Association Conference will be conducted virtually and take place September 23 and 24. A mix of live and pre-recorded sessions will be available for you to join remotely. WFOA recommends using the Google Chrome web browser for the best experience. Registration is now open! For questions about registering for the WFOA Conference, please contact Aimy Enrique at aenriquez@mrsc.org or (206) 625-1300 x125. Click here to register.
The Office of the Washington State Auditor made the move to remote auditing in March, and overall we have found the transition to be successful and sustainable for the foreseeable future. However, we have noticed that audits sometimes take a little longer in this environment. In adapting to auditing in a remote environment, flexibility and robust communication have been key to performing timely audits.
Since first reporting on about 40 unauditable governments in May 2019, the number of unauditable governments has been cut by about two-thirds. As of August 2020, only 15 governments have not submitted financial information by their final opportunity to do so. Learn more by viewing this interactive infographic.
State Auditor Pat McCarthy is pleased to announce that dozens of governments deemed unauditable last year have taken steps to comply with state accountability laws, leading to today's publication of completed audits of two governments that had gone without outside review for years.
Update, January 12, 2021: Some of the audits related to the state Employment Security Department have new timeframes.
The accountability audit now will include examining fraudulent claims through the end of December 2020. It is scheduled to be issued in the first quarter of 2021.
The federal government is allowing a three-month extension for federal and financial reporting to grant recipients who have received some form of COVID-19 funding. The State has decided to use this extension. Subsequently, our federal audit will now be issued in May 2021.
Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy announced Friday she will donate a scheduled salary increase to charity.
McCarthy's scheduled annual increase of $4,000 begins July 1. State law does not allow elected officials to return cost-of-living increases, so McCarthy will donate hers to The Other Bank. It distributes personal hygiene and cleaning items to more than 13,000 low-income individuals and families in Thurston and surrounding counties each year. Items from The Other Bank cannot be purchased with food stamps, and about a third of the recipients are children.