The Audit Connection Blog
Updated BARS Manuals now available on SAO’s website
The “Overview of Changes” section contains descriptions of the changes and links to the appropriate sections of the manuals. Please refer to the “Alerts and Changes” tab for determining which revisions might affect your 2021 annual reporting. ... CONTINUE READING
SAO’s top hits of 2021
As we come to the end of 2021, we at SAO want to thank you for your commitment to accountability and transparency. We know it takes people like you, people who care and put in the effort, to make good government happen. ... CONTINUE READING
Protect yourself against losses. Consider bonding today
Do you remember the scene in the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where George’s Uncle Billy loses an $8,000 deposit and it nearly results in the ruin of the family’s business? Absentminded Uncle Billy had somehow lost or misplaced the money on his way to the bank. In today’s dollars, that deposit would be equivalent to about $96,000. ... CONTINUE READING
BARS Manuals updates starting Dec. 13
The State Auditor’s Office will start the annual process of updating the BARS Manuals (GAAP and Cash) on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. 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 2021 and forward. ... CONTINUE READING
K&P leadership series: Modeling the way
In our blog series over these past months, we’ve explored four of the five behaviors described in The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s book on exemplary leadership practices. These four behaviors—shared visioning, enabling others, challenging processes, and encouraging hearts—have one specific thing in common: They ask you to take action in your leadership, such as developing certain skills, recognizing others, or increasing personal interactions. ... CONTINUE READING
Removing the mystery: How auditors select federal programs for audit
Governments that spend $750,000 or more in federal awards during their fiscal year must receive a Single Audit to determine their compliance with certain federal requirements. If your government has received a Single Audit—either annually or at some point in the past—you might have wondered how your auditor selected federal programs for audit. ... CONTINUE READING
World premiere: ‘Fish Tank,’ the limited series
Today marks the premiere of the Center for Government Innovation’s limited series, “Fish Tank,” on SAO's Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages. This year, the Center took a new approach to its annual fall outreach to local governments with a four-episode parody of the reality television series, “Shark Tank.” ... CONTINUE READING
Gaps in accountability led to $315,000 misappropriation by Employment Security Department employee
A former state Employment Security Department (ESD) employee misappropriated at least $315,282 in 2020, according to a fraud report released today by the Office of the Washington State Auditor. The investigation also identified $121,503 in questionable unemployment benefit payments associated with the same employee. ... CONTINUE READING
FIT Data Stories: COVID-19’s effect on revenues in border towns and special districts
In this bonus edition of our FIT Data Stories series on COVID-19’s effect on our cities and towns’ revenues, we use our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) to take a deep dive into how the pandemic affected Washington’s border towns and special districts. ... CONTINUE READING
Lack of subrecipient monitoring is leading to an increase in audit issues. Learn what you can do today
Earlier this summer, SAO published an article on subrecipient monitoring with information on the various requirements. But as governments continue to make subawards using funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund or the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, we want to emphasize some important points your government should keep in mind so you can avoid audit issues in the future. ... CONTINUE READING