Washington State Auditor's Office

State Auditor Pat McCarthy (at right) met with German Federal Transatlantic Coordinator Michael Link earlier this week to discuss broadening the American-German relationship in the Pacific Northwest, and the possibility of an international dialogue among auditors to advance government accountability on both sides of the Atlantic. 🌏 We appreciate the opportunity to expand #GoodGovernment globally!

Our Office is blessed with a slew of former and current interns who have helped us move the needle on #GoodGovernment, so in recognition of National Intern Day today, we extend a hearty THANK YOU 👏to you all! We appreciate you and your efforts on behalf of Washingtonians. Are you interested in being a rock star intern with us? Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dKdc7-DF

We have updated our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) with local government fiscal year 2023 data. What’s that mean to you? It means you can search and filter financial data for nearly 2,000 local governments in our state using the latest annual report figures. FIT will help you answer questions like, “What are governments doing with more than $50 billion in revenue?” and “What city spends the most money?” Explore FIT today: https://lnkd.in/gBZUVK3b

We appreciate the different career paths our employees have taken to get here, understanding a variety of experiences and perspectives makes our work, and workplace, better. Find out Cassandra Metzler’s Road To SAO in this short video. Interested in joining us on your journey? Visit our website to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gUwX2MWs #WeAreSAO

RIGHT NOW: Debbie Pennick from SAO’s Center for Government Innovation is leading a training for local government officials in Pend Oreille County on internal controls and how they help prevent fraud. Interested in free training for your government? Contact us at [email protected]

Are you a local government that has laptops, shop tools and other assets that might attract thieves? These so-called ‘small but attractive assets’ require some nuanced internal controls, and luckily our updated guide is here to help: https://ow.ly/B38U50SGeZg #GoodGovernment

Did you read about our $900,000 fraud investigation report? If you subscribed to our free e-newsletter, you would have: https://conta.cc/4bBak9C

Our Office recently published a fraud investigation report that found multiple Department of Agriculture employees reported time not actually worked in early 2022, resulting in a misappropriation of public funds totaling more than $50,000. Learn more in our report: https://ow.ly/KLVp50SCPo8 Do you suspect a misuse of public funds? Let us know: https://ow.ly/3vIT50SCPo6

We love our employees here at SAO, but coming in a close second are their pets! Take Theo and Reese, for example, a pair of two-year-old kittens owned by Ryan Montgomery, an Assistant Audit Manager with our Schools team. Theo and Reese love to take part in virtual meetings, redecorate the house in their own inimitable style, and make sure the kitchen counters are clean of any food. We’re talking very, very clean. Thanks for sharing this great photo, Ryan! #WeAreSAo #PetsOfSAO

Fraudsters are always looking for ways to misuse the public’s money. Fortunately, our fraud specialists are always looking to improve, as evidenced by these photos from a recent training and certification session dedicated to learning the latest prevention and detection techniques. Thank you to the 80 SAOers from our local and state audit teams who attended, and work incredibly hard to help ensure accountability and transparency of taxpayer funds. Learn more about our efforts and discover resources for local governments to help fight fraud: https://lnkd.in/gQXvEcws #WeAreSAO