Showing posts with label state auditor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label state auditor. Show all posts

King County Auditor seeks community suggestions for future audits of county government

Thursday, June 30, 2022

The King County Auditor’s Office is looking for input from the public as it plans its work for the next two years. To gather that input, the office launched a new website to gather community suggestions.

On the community input page, people can suggest agencies and activities to be audited, as well as make specific suggestions for improvement.

The King County Auditor’s Office conducts oversight of county government through independent audits, capital projects oversight, and other studies. In even numbered years, the King County Auditor’s Office puts together a work program of audit topics for approval by the King County Council.

Past audits have included reviewing Sheriff’s Office traffic stops, the county’s senior tax exemption program, Metro bus safety, pandemic planning, labor relations and much more.

Members of the public are encouraged to visit the community input page and share their ideas and suggestions. Ideas submitted before Aug. 15 will be considered for inclusion in the next work plan.



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State Auditor will notify people affected by security breach and offer 12 months of free credit monitoring

Friday, February 26, 2021

This week, the Office of the Washington State Auditor will begin notifying people whose unemployment benefits claims information may have been affected by a security breach of the Accellion file transfer service.

The notifications will be sent by email during the next two weeks to people who filed an unemployment insurance claim in 2020. 

In addition to general information about identity theft protection, the email includes an individual code for 12 months of free credit monitoring as well as instructions on how to enroll and request assistance. 




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State Auditor releases performance audit on charter schools - but results are inconclusive

Monday, November 26, 2018




The Office of the Washington State auditor released a performance audit report on charter schools in Washington.

The audit examined whether the state's charter schools have the foundations in place to ensure they are accountable to the public. This includes whether the schools have enrolled the types of students identified in their charters, complied with certain state and federal requirements, and have appropriate performance frameworks.

Results were mixed, which was unsurprising given the newness of the charter school system in this state. That newness also kept our Office from addressing the question of how effective these schools are at teaching students. That is a question that should be addressed as the system matures and accumulates more years of data.



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State Auditor says it's impossible to measure economic development organizations

Sunday, October 12, 2014

On October 2, the office of State Auditor Troy Kelley published a performance audit of one of Washington’s economic development programs.

"The Legislature wanted to measure the effect of locally-based associate development organizations on job growth and capital investment, but doing so has proven difficult.

"In fact, our analysis determined it is virtually impossible to measure the impact of associate development organizations, because so many other forces affect business owners’ decisions to expand or relocate.
"Important factors such as business competition, the availability of loans, and raw material prices are outside the control of our economic development programs.

"Fostering job growth is important to our state and our communities.

"But while asking associate development organizations to report how many jobs they have created will not result in meaningful figures, it is possible to ensure economic development programs are accountable for their efforts.

"In our report, we offer suggestions and leading practices that can help the Legislature develop a more effective performance measurement system for economic development programs."


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Audit of surplussed state computers finds some confidential data

Thursday, April 10, 2014

From Troy Kelley, Washington State Auditor 

Today our Office published a performance audit of the state’s system for removing confidential data from surplus computers.

State laws require state agencies to erase all data, including confidential information such as Social Security numbers, medical information, and IT system and security information, before a used computer is sent to the state’s surplus warehouse for donation or sale to the public. We checked a sample of computers sent to the warehouse and estimate that 9 percent of the computers scheduled for surplus during our review period contained confidential data that should have been removed.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer and state agencies responded swiftly to our findings, stopping the release of surplus computers and improving data removal policies. In our audit, we recommend all state agencies follow a national best practice to conduct a final check to verify all data has been removed before releasing computers. We also recommend the OCIO improve its policies and oversight for agency data disposal practices.

Washingtonians share personal information with state agencies under the expectation that it will be kept confidential. It is the duty of the government to honor that expectation. While we detected gaps in the system, I am pleased that this performance audit has and will continue to improve the way agencies safeguard confidential information in our state.

We welcome comments and suggestions for future reports. You will find this report here at our website.


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State Auditor's website revised, updated and improved

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

From Troy Kelley, Washington State Auditor

The new Washington State Auditor’s website has been thoroughly redesigned and rebuilt to be more attractive, effective and interactive, to better serve the governments we audit, our colleagues in the executive and legislative branches, and the taxpayers of Washington.

Continue to use this webpage. But all other links on the site have changed. You should find all the information you need under the various tabs for Local Government (online filing, BARS Manual etc.), State Government (Performance Audit, etc.), Investigations (Citizen Hotline, Fraud and Whistleblower programs), About Us (career opportunities, mission and goal statements, etc.), and General Information and Resources (public records requests, media resources, contracting opportunities).

We have worked hard to make the transition to the new format and functionality as easy and intuitive as possible, but change can always be challenging. We are ready to help you find your way around as you become familiar with the new navigation. If you need help, contact the Webmaster.  

We invite your feedback: Look for our website survey on the home page, beginning February 3.


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