WA State Auditor Finds Metaline Town Clerk/Treasurer Misappropriated at Least $223K in Public Funds The Office of the Washington State Auditor released a fraud investigation report on April 20, 2026, concluding that former Clerk-Treasurer Kelly Flanagan (55) of the Town of Metaline misappropriated at least $223,717 in public funds between August 2019 and June 2025. An additional $1,501 in misappropriations occurred on another employee's credit ca...

You can find our published fraud investigation report as cited in this story by The Selkirk Sun on our website: https://ow.ly/8EMI50YNMAG

Bold white text saying Happy Earth Day with a white globe showing the Americas on a green background.

Our Office has done a fair amount of work over the years addressing important environmental issues in our state, and since today is Earth Day, we thought a look back at our Ensuring Climate-Resilient Infrastructure performance audit from last summer was in order: https://ow.ly/APC450YLj8y

Two professionals in a meeting room holding a certificate with a seal, standing between desks labeled with names and districts.

Congratulations to the Tahoma School District for receiving the State Auditor’s Stewardship Award in recognition of its dedication to financial excellence and stewardship of public funds.

Shown L to R: District Chief of Finance Bill Hernandez and State Auditor Pat McCarthy. #GoodGovernment

WA police lag on required deescalation, mental health training • Washington State Standard Washington law enforcement officers are way behind completing training required under a marquee police accountability law.

ICYMI: Washington State Standard and reporter Jake Goldstein-Street's coverage of our latest performance audit which includes a link to our full report.

Promotional graphic for the Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference 2026 webcast on April 22 featuring speakers Justin Stowe and Shauna Good.

This Wednesday, April 22 is Earth Day, so it seems quite appropriate that two of the best performance audit experts on the planet will be discussing our work related to environmental issues on that day. Thank you to Justin and Shauna for connecting with our colleagues!

The cornerstone of accountability: government annual filing The Aud Pod · Episode

Learn why the century-old practice of financial annual filing is the cornerstone of government accountability in our latest episode of the Aud Pod podcast.

Audit says only a fraction of police have completed mandatory de-escalation training The audit points out that some officers feel the training "is not relevant" or are "resistant to community and cultural awareness training for personal and political reasons."

We appreciate the coverage of our latest performance audit by The Seattle Times. For more details, including a link to our full report, you may visit our website: https://ow.ly/Rpwx50YMSnp

Promotional graphic for Governmental Accounting and Auditing Conference webcast on April 22 featuring State Auditor Pat McCarthy.

State Auditor Pat McCarthy will be a guest speaker April 22 at WSCPA’s Governmental Accounting and Auditing Conference webcast. She’ll be on hand to discuss our Office’s work and its role in helping promote accountability and transparency in government.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/bBTk50YKJYt

We figured we'd get your weekend started off on the right foot (paw) with a couple of pictures from Theo the Wonder Corgi's 9th birthday party yesterday. As our unofficial mascot, we appreciate his can-do attitude and infectious smile! #TheoTheWonderCorgi

WA audit: Just 16% of veteran officers have finished required police training The training is mandated by Initiative 940, which went on to become the 2019 Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act.

More coverage of our latest performance audit that examined lawfully mandated police training requirements.

Take a deeper dive on our website: https://ow.ly/ANbR50YK93n

Jeopardy clue: Washington and Maine each appoint a state one of these officials to examine accounting records

In an episode of Jeopardy! with host Ken Jennings that aired earlier this week, the Daily Double clue in the 'state government' category was: "Washington & Maine each have a state one of these officials to examine accounting records."

The contestant answered correctly. Can you? #GameShowFamous

Updated procurement resources have arrived | Office of the Washington State Auditor Below is more information about each of SAO's updated procurement resources, and the improvements made. Buying and Bidding Guide This guide sets out the basics of purchasing and bidding to help you comply with state law, no matter your government type, size or complexity. This update includes several changes to improve clarity and ensure compliance. In this update, we’ve:

We’ve updated not one, not two, but THREE of our most popular resources to help guide your local government through the bidding and purchasing process. Learn more and download these guides today!

Washington audit finds most police officers falling short of accountability requirements The Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act mandates 40 hours of continuing training in violence de-escalation, mental health, and more.

ICYMI: A summary and link to our newly published performance audit report as cited in this story by KOMO News can be found on our website: https://ow.ly/OMls50YJTm0

Look who dressed up for their special day! Happy 9th birthday to our unofficial mascot, Theo the Wonder Corgi. May the day be filled with never-ending snacks and squeakie toys!

We're hiring for paid audit intern positions in multiple locations. Learn more and apply today: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/sao

Audit finds limited progress in police training required under the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act | Office of the Washington State Auditor Washington’s police officers are far from completing training mandated by Initiative 940, a new performance audit found. The initiative, which became the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act, requires 40 hours of continuing training for law enforcement officers. The state Criminal Justice Training Commission developed a curriculum that includes:

Washington law includes deadlines to provide police training in areas such as de-escalation and mental health awareness. Are these deadlines being met? Are police agencies in compliance with requirements? We sought to find out in our latest performance audit.

Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) Overview: Individual Governments feature In this Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) overview, we dive into FIT’s “Individual Governments” feature, your starting point for exploring the finances of an...

Learn how to harness the power of SAO’s Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) and explore your government’s financial data with our series of short overview videos highlighting key FIT features.

Start today with FIT's "Individual Governments" feature! #GoodGovernment

Minnesota governor orders emergency support for cyberattack disrupting county's 'critical systems' | StateScoop “Swift coordination between state and local experts matters in these moments," Tim Walz, Minnesota's governor, said after a disruptive cyberattack in Winona County.

Minnesota county suffers its second major cyberattack of the year, a cautionary tale for governments of all types and sizes.

Learn how our Office can help your Washington-state government be better prepared: https://sao.wa.gov/improving-government/becybersmart

Audit of $23.7 billion in federal funds shows overall improvement | Office of the Washington State Auditor Each year, the Office of the Washington State Auditor conducts a single audit – one major audit to examine whether state agencies spent billions of dollars in federal funds in accordance with the requirements set by the federal government.

ICYMI: Boiling down a look into billions of dollars in federal funds is kind of our thing. Check out our short infographic summary of the fiscal year 2025 single audit of the state’s federal funding today.

Bold text reading 'First 100 Days of 2026' with the Washington State Auditor of State seal on a blue dotted background.

Since the first of the year our Office has completed 605 audits, with 697 more in progress—and we're just getting started. Visit our website to learn more about our work on behalf of Washingtonians: https://www.sao.wa.gov

Brenton Clark, Senior Performance Auditor, shares why he loves working at the Washington State Auditor's Office after 10 years since 2015.

Senior Performance Auditor Brenton Clark appreciates SAO’s support for continuous improvement. “We are always on the lookout for ways to make our work more efficient and effective,” he says.

Thank you for your commitment to public service, Brenton, We truly appreciate you! #WeAreSAO

MAY 30 will be here before we know it. We encourage all 2025 year-end local governments to submit their annual filing with our Office by the deadline. (Truth be told, before the deadline would be even better.)

Learn more: https://ow.ly/VCBJ50YomK9

How Hackers Steal Passwords: 5 Attack Methods Explained Want to uncover the latest insights on ransomware, dark web threats, and AI risks? Read the 2024 Threat Intelligence Index → https://ibm.biz/BdnicALearn more...

Here’s a video of how the bad guys compromise passwords, to help the good guys (that’s all of us!) develop processes to prevent it from happening to them. #GoodGovernment

Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) Overview: Financial Health feature In this Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) overview, we dive into FIT’s “Financial Health” feature, your starting point for understanding the financial condit...

Learn how to harness the power of SAO’s Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) and explore your government’s financial data with our series of short overview videos highlighting key FIT features.

Get started today with FIT’s “Financial Health” feature. #GoodGovernment

Blue background with white text displaying "Today's Number 34" and the Washington State Auditor seal in the corner.

Today’s number of 34 represents the number of different local government types in Washington—from cities, to counties, to fire districts and more.

Learn more and start exploring these governments' financial data with our Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT): https://ow.ly/SVMr50XSEAp

Audit of $23.7 billion in federal funds shows overall improvement | Office of the Washington State Auditor Each year, the Office of the Washington State Auditor conducts a single audit – one major audit to examine whether state agencies spent billions of dollars in federal funds in accordance with the requirements set by the federal government.

Don’t have time to read 1,000+ pages of our recently published Federal Single Audit Report including a look at child care subsidies? We got you. Check out our short infographic summary today.

SAO staffers standing, left to right: Stacie Tellers, Brad White, Olivia Crouch and Niles Kostick.

Thank you to the Washington State Association of County Auditors for having SAO staff share their expertise at this month's WSACA Finance Conference. We appreciate connecting with our colleagues! Shown left to right: Stacie Tellers, Brad White, Olivia Crouch and Niles Kostick. #GoodGovernment

Washington auditors estimate $37M in questionable child care subsidy payments in 2025 A weakness in the system used to detect improper payments in subsidized child care contributed to an estimated $37M in questionable payments.

You can learn more about our annual Statewide Single Audit as highlighted in this story by KOMO News on our website, including a link to a short infographic summary of the results: https://ow.ly/Ng5M50YAYIQ

State audit shows overall improvement, recommends increased oversight of child care payments | Office of the Washington State Auditor Today the Office of the Washington State Auditor released its massive annual audit of federal funds, which reviewed $23.7 billion in federal funds across 28 programs. Auditors found a general pattern of improved compliance with federal requirements overall. SAO also determined that the state’s system to detect improper payments in child care subsidies has weaknesses that contributed to an estimated $37 million in questionable payments in 2025.

Earlier today our Office published its massive annual audit of almost $24 billion in federal funds including a look at child care subsidies. Learn more in our press release that features links to an infographic summary and other key data.

Warning about text scams urging not to click links in messages claiming to be from the Washington State Auditor's Office.

We've received reports of people getting texts from the "Washington State Auditor Collections Unit" asking for vehicle-related payments. THIS IS A SCAM.

Our Office doesn’t collect payments from the public at all. Do not respond to this text message or click on any links. Continue to be vigilant.