Government offices at all levels experienced upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic, with added complexity and disrupted timelines for all kinds of work. The scale of federal grant money to be managed – and then audited – was unprecedented. In this blog post, the Office of the Washington State Auditor explains how the increased number and size of federal grants to be audited has affected local governments’ federal single audits.
As we performed federal single audits this year, a common issue arose – a lack of compliance with federal wage rate requirements. Much of the issue stems from local governments that managed federally funded construction projects for the first time but did not provide enough training to their staff on federal wage rate requirements.
As cyberattacks grow in sophistication, most folks in government know they need to be prepared with strong software and hardware security protocols. And while these technologies will provide protection against a variety of threats, they offer little protection from a major risk factor: your own employees’ actions.
Hello, WFOA 2023! The State Auditor's Office is excited to be reconnecting with our partners in government accountability in the Lilac City (a.k.a. Spokane).
This op-ed by State Auditor Pat McCarthy first appeared in the July 30, 2023 edition of the Spokesman Review.
Fuel prices can be volatile. When they rise, governments will feel it in higher fleet-operation budgets, and employees will feel it in their wallets. And here at SAO, we will likely see more local government reports of known or suspected fuel-related losses and frauds.
The Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) was enacted to make the conduct of Washington’s governments more accessible and open to the public. The OPMA underwent significant changes in 2022 when the Legislature modified the law in response to how local governments had adapted and continued to hold their governing body meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Procurement and competitive bidding laws can be complicated, often varying based on government type, the nature of the procurement, and the estimated cost, and it can be difficult to wade through existing requirements or stay updated on new ones.
Local governments are fast becoming attractive targets for cyber criminals because of the vast amounts of sensitive data they maintain about their employees, infrastructure and residents. To keep pace with the constantly evolving threats and tactics, it's essential that you understand how to minimize your government's risk of attack.
Preparing your government's payroll takes a lot of time and expertise. From collecting employee information, tracking leave, processing timesheets, and calculating pay to processing garnishments, delivering pay checks, submitting tax forms, and preparing year-end reporting, there's a lot to do. That's why some governments use a third party to do all or part of their payroll. But how do you determine if outsourcing payroll is right for your government?