The Audit Connection Blog
Change Management Lesson 2: Building Awareness of the Change to Come
In our Lesson 1 post, we introduced change management as a strategy to implement successful process improvement initiatives. In this installment, we will introduce the ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) change management model. This is a five-stage approach to help organizations manage the people side of change. Today, we will focus on Awareness. ... CONTINUE READING
Visit SAO during our 1-day Performance Audit Workshop!
Are you, or someone you know, currently enrolled in a college degree program? Interested in learning about an exciting career where you can help improve government services? Well, you're in luck! ... CONTINUE READING
Change Management Lesson 1: How to Get Started
Government staff often ask where to start when they seek to improve a process like permits, asset management, approval queues and so on. It’s hard to know what actions to take without looking at why you are where you are today, and the mindset of the people who will have to make the change happen. ... CONTINUE READING
State Auditor’s Office uncovers $7 million misappropriation
Today, the Office of the Washington State Auditor released its report on a major fraud investigation involving the Pierce County Housing Authority. The State Auditor's Office investigation found nearly $7 million in misappropriated public funds, which is the largest case of its kind on record for a Washington local government. ... CONTINUE READING
Newest newsletter focuses on school issues
From time to time, the State Auditor’s Office compiles the articles we post on this blog into our Audit Connection print newsletter, which we distribute at meetings and conferences. Recently, we put together our first print newsletter aimed solely at education professionals. ... CONTINUE READING
Are you ready for lease accounting?
Accounting and reporting standards and guidance for leases are changing for both GAAP and cash basis local governments, effective for fiscal years ending December 31, 2020, and after. Although you won’t be preparing your financial statements and notes until early 2021, those first lease payments under the new standard will begin to flow in January 2020. Will you be ready? ... CONTINUE READING
Using data to visualize the world of fire protection districts
As a follow up to our #Gov101 series on fire districts, let’s take a look at what we can learn about these governments using the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT)! ... CONTINUE READING
Does your government provide take-home vehicles?
When was the last time you assessed risks related to your take-home vehicle program, or updated your policy? Are you certain the benefits outweigh the costs? To help you navigate these waters, our Office’s Center for Government Innovation has developed a new resource to help you identify and implement best practices over take-home vehicles. ... CONTINUE READING
Washington: Don't lose our number
We believe it’s important to stay in communication at the Washington State Auditor’s Office. That’s why we email you about audit reports, new resources and news you can use. But do you know how to get in contact with us? ... CONTINUE READING
Are you curious how fire districts get and spend their money? Our new #Gov101 video on fire districts has answers.
The second part of our new #Gov101 video on fire districts walks through how fire districts in Washington manage their finances. ... CONTINUE READING