Office of the Washington State Auditor
@wastateauditor.bsky.social
Working on behalf of the public to promote accountability and transparency of government in Washington state. Learn more at https://sao.wa.gov.
Thanks to Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) for this page of resources for people affected by natural disasters. #GoodGovernment
After Windstorms, Floods, and Other Natural Disasters
L&I is committed to doing all it can to provide services and resources to help those impacted by natural disasters in Washington State. This page summarizes the services and resources available from us.
lni.wa.gov
December 18, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Thanks to Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) for this page of resources for people affected by natural disasters. #GoodGovernment
Thank you to the Puget Sound Finance Officers Association (PSFOA) for hosting its annual holiday luncheon last week and having State Auditor Pat McCarthy as the featured speaker!
We appreciate the chance to celebrate with our partners in #GoodGovernment!
We appreciate the chance to celebrate with our partners in #GoodGovernment!
December 18, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Thank you to the Puget Sound Finance Officers Association (PSFOA) for hosting its annual holiday luncheon last week and having State Auditor Pat McCarthy as the featured speaker!
We appreciate the chance to celebrate with our partners in #GoodGovernment!
We appreciate the chance to celebrate with our partners in #GoodGovernment!
Our gift to you: publicly available financial data for more than 2,000 local governments, all wrapped up in one handy place: our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT). Check out this short video to learn more then head over to sao.wa.gov/FIT and start exploring!
FIT: Government Financial Data at Your Fingertips!
Ever wonder how your local government handles its money—YOUR public dollars?Seriously, who hasn’t?Enter the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) from the Office...
youtu.be
December 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Our gift to you: publicly available financial data for more than 2,000 local governments, all wrapped up in one handy place: our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT). Check out this short video to learn more then head over to sao.wa.gov/FIT and start exploring!
Pretrial services such as electronic home monitoring offer an alternative to incarceration for people awaiting trial outside jail. How well do these services work? What barriers do jurisdictions face in using them? We sought to find out in our latest performance audit.
Washington courts want to expand bail alternatives but face difficulties in doing so, audit finds | Office of the Washington State Auditor
Several courts in Washington are interested in expanding alternatives to bail, but they appear to use such pretrial services infrequently today and face barriers to doing more, a new performance audit...
sao.wa.gov
December 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Pretrial services such as electronic home monitoring offer an alternative to incarceration for people awaiting trial outside jail. How well do these services work? What barriers do jurisdictions face in using them? We sought to find out in our latest performance audit.
Thank you @oicwa.bsky.social for these helpful hints and other information to assist Washingtonians affected by the recent flooding. We appreciate your partnership in #GoodGovernment.
Five #flood tips from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
December 17, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Thank you @oicwa.bsky.social for these helpful hints and other information to assist Washingtonians affected by the recent flooding. We appreciate your partnership in #GoodGovernment.
It's time for another SAO custom Wordle puzzle! Today's clue: "It's who we serve."
Wordle Puzzle Created By SAO
Choose a word for friends to guess, then share your own puzzle.
www.nytimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
It's time for another SAO custom Wordle puzzle! Today's clue: "It's who we serve."
View our openings and apply today: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/sao
December 17, 2025 at 12:55 AM
View our openings and apply today: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/sao
Now streaming: SAO’s latest performance audit presentation, evaluating if charter schools appropriately identify and support at-risk students.
What did they find? Tune in and find out!
What did they find? Tune in and find out!
Evaluating How Charter Schools Identify and Support At-Risk Students: SAO Performance Audit
In November 2025 our Office published a performance audit that looked at four public charter schools across the state, to evaluate if they identified and ser...
youtu.be
December 17, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Now streaming: SAO’s latest performance audit presentation, evaluating if charter schools appropriately identify and support at-risk students.
What did they find? Tune in and find out!
What did they find? Tune in and find out!
Counting Down the Five Most Popular SAO Blog Posts of 2025…coming in at number 3 is a must-read for local governments subject to a federal single audit. It includes tips on pitfalls to sidestep and a link to one of our most popular related resources.
December 15, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Counting Down the Five Most Popular SAO Blog Posts of 2025…coming in at number 3 is a must-read for local governments subject to a federal single audit. It includes tips on pitfalls to sidestep and a link to one of our most popular related resources.
https://youtu.be/PNTFA37tRr4
How do we decide what topics to explore for our performance audits? Glad you asked! Check out this video in which Justin Stowe, SAO’s Asst. Director of Performance Audit, gives an overview of our process and resulting workplan for the 2025-27 biennium. #GoodGovernment
How do we decide what topics to explore for our performance audits? Glad you asked! Check out this video in which Justin Stowe, SAO’s Asst. Director of Performance Audit, gives an overview of our process and resulting workplan for the 2025-27 biennium. #GoodGovernment
SAO Performance Audit Workplan Presentation for 2025-2027 Biennium
Performance audits evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs with the goal of making them work better. They are the result of voter-ap...
youtu.be
December 15, 2025 at 8:01 PM
https://youtu.be/PNTFA37tRr4
How do we decide what topics to explore for our performance audits? Glad you asked! Check out this video in which Justin Stowe, SAO’s Asst. Director of Performance Audit, gives an overview of our process and resulting workplan for the 2025-27 biennium. #GoodGovernment
How do we decide what topics to explore for our performance audits? Glad you asked! Check out this video in which Justin Stowe, SAO’s Asst. Director of Performance Audit, gives an overview of our process and resulting workplan for the 2025-27 biennium. #GoodGovernment
Thank you to Whitworth University for having SAO’s fraud prevention specialist Alex Lycan (pictured) and Assistant State Auditor Dylan Wharton (behind the camera) on campus! We appreciate the opportunity to discuss our work with students.
Learn more about careers here: https://ow.ly/HzHt50XCfBe
Learn more about careers here: https://ow.ly/HzHt50XCfBe
December 12, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Thank you to Whitworth University for having SAO’s fraud prevention specialist Alex Lycan (pictured) and Assistant State Auditor Dylan Wharton (behind the camera) on campus! We appreciate the opportunity to discuss our work with students.
Learn more about careers here: https://ow.ly/HzHt50XCfBe
Learn more about careers here: https://ow.ly/HzHt50XCfBe
Looking to add to your winter reading list? Our recently published fraud investigation report tells the story of a small-town multi-scheme misappropriation totaling more than $75,000. Download it today: https://ow.ly/g3vW50XAchG
December 11, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Looking to add to your winter reading list? Our recently published fraud investigation report tells the story of a small-town multi-scheme misappropriation totaling more than $75,000. Download it today: https://ow.ly/g3vW50XAchG
Counting Down the Five Most Popular SAO Blog Posts of 2025…coming in at number 4 is a helpful article highlighting critical items to look for in your aging A/R report. Read it today—it may save you a headache tomorrow.
Accounts receivable help: Look for these red flags in your aging report | Office of the Washington State Auditor
Learn how to spot red flags in your aging report to improve accounts receivable management and safeguard your organization's financial health.
sao.wa.gov
December 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Counting Down the Five Most Popular SAO Blog Posts of 2025…coming in at number 4 is a helpful article highlighting critical items to look for in your aging A/R report. Read it today—it may save you a headache tomorrow.
Rules for SLFRF funds are changing! See how it affects your local government in our blog post (or if you just want to know what SLFRF stands for).
Did you obligate your SLFRF funds by the deadline? We’ll be checking next year | Office of the Washington State Auditor
What’s changing and why it matters The end of September marked the wrap-up of our 2024 calendar year single audits. This was also the deadline for local governments to submit financial statements and audit results to the federal audit clearinghouse because it was nine months after the fiscal year-end.
sao.wa.gov
December 10, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Rules for SLFRF funds are changing! See how it affects your local government in our blog post (or if you just want to know what SLFRF stands for).
There's A LOT to learn when a new government official first takes office. Where to begin? Glad you asked. Our recently updated blog post includes some great guidance and key resources for new and seasoned elected and appointed officials alike.
New to government? Our resources for newly elected officials offer some great guidance | Office of the Washington State Auditor
This blog post was originally published in October 2023. We've recently updated some of the content and links to make them more relevant. What’s new:
www.sao.wa.gov
December 9, 2025 at 8:10 PM
There's A LOT to learn when a new government official first takes office. Where to begin? Glad you asked. Our recently updated blog post includes some great guidance and key resources for new and seasoned elected and appointed officials alike.
See how the city of Monroe learned to be Lean with free process-improvement services from our Office in this two-page Lean case study (PDF): https://ow.ly/g3rB50XxG76
See how we can help your government improve its operations: https://ow.ly/oLTU50XxG72
See how we can help your government improve its operations: https://ow.ly/oLTU50XxG72
December 8, 2025 at 11:00 PM
See how the city of Monroe learned to be Lean with free process-improvement services from our Office in this two-page Lean case study (PDF): https://ow.ly/g3rB50XxG76
See how we can help your government improve its operations: https://ow.ly/oLTU50XxG72
See how we can help your government improve its operations: https://ow.ly/oLTU50XxG72
ICYMI: You can find our published fraud investigation report as cited in this story by Tri-City Herald on our website: https://ow.ly/hQS450XFX0K
Fire district finance director charged with misappropriating +$88K
She worked in the position for more than a decade.
ow.ly
December 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM
ICYMI: You can find our published fraud investigation report as cited in this story by Tri-City Herald on our website: https://ow.ly/hQS450XFX0K
Click. Learn. Repeat. Washington Association of County Officals makes it easy with their Education Hub: https://countyofficials.org/197/Education-Hub
December 5, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Click. Learn. Repeat. Washington Association of County Officals makes it easy with their Education Hub: https://countyofficials.org/197/Education-Hub
Counting Down the Five Most Popular SAO Blog Posts of 2025…coming in at number 5 is a summary about one of our performance audits that really resonated with Washingtonians. Learn more and see how it may affect you or people you know.
Intercepting insurance claims for unpaid child support effective, performance audit finds | Office of the Washington State Auditor
Since the Legislature acted on the recommendations of a previous audit, Washington has more than doubled the amount of unpaid child support it collects from insurance claims, a follow-up performance audit has found.
sao.wa.gov
December 4, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Counting Down the Five Most Popular SAO Blog Posts of 2025…coming in at number 5 is a summary about one of our performance audits that really resonated with Washingtonians. Learn more and see how it may affect you or people you know.
https://youtu.be/58IwmUJ7YZA
A recent episode of our Aud Pod podcast focuses on free cyber checkups offered by SAO's Center for Government Innovation designed to help local governments improve their cyber health. Learn more, listen up and follow along on our YouTube podcast channel today.
A recent episode of our Aud Pod podcast focuses on free cyber checkups offered by SAO's Center for Government Innovation designed to help local governments improve their cyber health. Learn more, listen up and follow along on our YouTube podcast channel today.
The Aud Pod podcast: Free cyber checkups--reducing risk for local governments
Local governments are increasingly becoming attractive targets for cyber criminals because of the vast amounts of sensitive data they maintain about employee...
youtu.be
December 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM
https://youtu.be/58IwmUJ7YZA
A recent episode of our Aud Pod podcast focuses on free cyber checkups offered by SAO's Center for Government Innovation designed to help local governments improve their cyber health. Learn more, listen up and follow along on our YouTube podcast channel today.
A recent episode of our Aud Pod podcast focuses on free cyber checkups offered by SAO's Center for Government Innovation designed to help local governments improve their cyber health. Learn more, listen up and follow along on our YouTube podcast channel today.
SAO's Financial Intelligence Tool is the Tool that Rules!
FIT: Government Financial Data at Your Fingertips!
Ever wonder how your local government handles its money—YOUR public dollars?Seriously, who hasn’t?Enter the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) from the Office...
youtu.be
December 4, 2025 at 12:35 AM
SAO's Financial Intelligence Tool is the Tool that Rules!
ICYMI: Fraud Awareness Week (Nov. 16-22, 2025) was officially recognized by Gov. Bob Ferguson!
Fighting fraud is a 24-7-365 job (366 during Leap Year) so we encourage governments to take advantage of our free online fraud prevention resources: https://ow.ly/ImzR50XA9pV
Fighting fraud is a 24-7-365 job (366 during Leap Year) so we encourage governments to take advantage of our free online fraud prevention resources: https://ow.ly/ImzR50XA9pV
December 2, 2025 at 11:00 PM
ICYMI: Fraud Awareness Week (Nov. 16-22, 2025) was officially recognized by Gov. Bob Ferguson!
Fighting fraud is a 24-7-365 job (366 during Leap Year) so we encourage governments to take advantage of our free online fraud prevention resources: https://ow.ly/ImzR50XA9pV
Fighting fraud is a 24-7-365 job (366 during Leap Year) so we encourage governments to take advantage of our free online fraud prevention resources: https://ow.ly/ImzR50XA9pV
Do our state's charter schools make the grade when it comes to identifying and serving at-risk students? See what our performance auditors found out when we present our latest work to lawmakers this Wednesday, Dec. 3, via TVW livestream: https://ow.ly/hHfM50Xx5Ck
December 1, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Do our state's charter schools make the grade when it comes to identifying and serving at-risk students? See what our performance auditors found out when we present our latest work to lawmakers this Wednesday, Dec. 3, via TVW livestream: https://ow.ly/hHfM50Xx5Ck
In the spirit of togetherness, kindness and appreciation, we wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
November 26, 2025 at 9:01 PM
In the spirit of togetherness, kindness and appreciation, we wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you to Washington State Association of Counties for having SAO’s Lean expert, Cami Jones, at the County Leaders Conference earlier this month!
Cami’s presentation focused on strategies governments can use to help boost efficiency. Learn more: https://ow.ly/WwQL50XuswQ
Cami’s presentation focused on strategies governments can use to help boost efficiency. Learn more: https://ow.ly/WwQL50XuswQ
November 26, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Thank you to Washington State Association of Counties for having SAO’s Lean expert, Cami Jones, at the County Leaders Conference earlier this month!
Cami’s presentation focused on strategies governments can use to help boost efficiency. Learn more: https://ow.ly/WwQL50XuswQ
Cami’s presentation focused on strategies governments can use to help boost efficiency. Learn more: https://ow.ly/WwQL50XuswQ