Thurston County received a clean audit from the State Auditor’s Office for the fifth straight year.
“Clean audits are a credit to our sound policies and meticulous and talented staff,” said Mary Hall, Thurston County Auditor. The county auditor’s office overseas financial services for all of county government. “Clean audits should be a regular occurrence for Thurston County,” she said.
The State Auditor’s Office took a particular look at some parts of county operations, including practices in payroll and accounts payable, use of restricted funds and procedures in district court and the jail.
An audit team from the State Auditor’s office worked with the Thurston County Auditor’s Financial Services Division for the last two months to complete financial and accountability audits. Staff from the Board of County Commissioners’, Treasurer’s and Assessor’s offices and other county departments also helped with the audit.
This year’s audit was also conducted while county offices were closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Because we were closed, the entire audit was conducted remotely,” Hall said. “County staff worked hard to be accessible and responsive. We also gave them credentials for read only access to our financial system.”
“We appreciate the county being flexible with their time and finding unique ways to communicate with us,” read a portion of the exit conference memo from the State Auditor’s Office. “County staff did a great job complying with last minute requests and doing so in a timely manner…”
State auditors will return later this year to audit a grant in the Public Health and Social Services department. That audit was delayed because of the public health crisis.
You can find a copy of the State Auditor’s reports here:
· Financial Audit
More information on the financial state of Thurston County is found in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report published by the Thurston County Auditor’s Financial Services division.
