The Audit Connection Blog
Ransomware goes nuclear
Make no mistake about it, organizations are fighting a war against ransomware. As in any war, it helps to know when your adversary’s strategy changes in a major way. And that is exactly what has been happening in the past few months, according to Roger A. Grimes, a cybersecurity expert with KnowBe4, a cybersecurity training company. ... CONTINUE READING
Change Management Lesson 6: Reinforcement helps new habits stick
The biggest challenge to sustaining change arguably isn’t employee resistance – it’s habit. Truly resistant employees are rare, but every human being is subject to the power of habit. We can all benefit from some help to avoid falling back into old habits and sustain the initial momentum and excitement of the improved way of getting the work done. ... CONTINUE READING
Change Management Lesson 5: Moving from competence to mastery
Employees who have knowledge about a new process aren’t automatically proficient at achieving the desired results. Even with the best of intention and motivation, if I just depend on my individual knowledge and desire, I might never attain the needed ability level to make a new or changing process successful. So how do we incorporate a new skill into our ability? ... CONTINUE READING
Start the year off right – new best practices and tools for bank reconciliations!
The monthly reconciliation is an essential control activity to government finance. Although we cannot prescribe a uniform way to perform your reconciliation, we have developed a list of best practices to consider and compare to your own government’s current processes. ... CONTINUE READING
Summary infographic of Washington's 2019 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report
Each year, as required by law, the state publishes its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) to provide information on the state’s financial position. To make this important information accessible to the broadest possible audience, the State Auditor’s Office prepares this CAFR summary to provide a snapshot of the state’s financial position, including revenues and expenditures, cash balances and debt. ... CONTINUE READING
Change Management Lesson 4: Training for knowledge
Change management starts with building awareness and desire because it recognizes that success requires each employee to choose to adopt and use the new process. Training for new knowledge will yield best results if the people involved have enough awareness and desire to embrace the change, and to seek knowledge and put it to use. ... CONTINUE READING
New phone numbers for the Office of the Washington State Auditor
Beginning in February, several phone numbers for the Office of the Washington State Auditor will change. ... CONTINUE READING
Change Management Lesson 3: Improvement requires desire to change
How many of us have been shaped by a work culture that lives by an “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rule? But what does that really mean? ... CONTINUE READING
Some governments move off unauditable list
In response to legislative interest in addressing unauditable governments, the State Auditor’s Office recently updated the status of this small group of noncompliant districts. ... CONTINUE READING
Spending Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds? Here are some resources for you
We know that many of our local governments in Washington received funding from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF). While the State Auditor’s Office (SAO) hasn’t audited this funding source yet, we’ve compiled some resources to help you comply with this federal grant program and, hopefully, avoid future audit issues. ... CONTINUE READING