The routine annual audit of the City of Puyallup’s 2018 finances and its corresponding standard accountability audit which examined various potential areas of risk were both returned “clean,” with no findings or concerns identified.
“The City takes numerous actions and precautionary measures to ensure our adherence to sound financial practices,” said Puyallup Mayor John Palmer. “Not only do we adopt budgets that are financially viable and supported by our economic reality, we make sure that the resources available for essential public services are spent as they should be.”
The Washington State Auditor’s Office is responsible for examining the financial statements of local government entities to determine if these are complete and accurate. An accountability audit assesses how local governments manage and use public resources, and safeguard them from fraud, loss or abuse. This type of audit determines accountability for municipal operations by evaluating whether a local government is adhering to applicable state laws and regulations as well as its own policies and procedures.
The Auditor selects areas to be examined according to which represent the highest risk of noncompliance. In 2018, the areas examined in the City of Puyallup’s records included the management of public works contracts (procurements, change orders, prevailing wage requirements and contract close-outs); expenditures of one or more departments; cash receipting of one or more departments; the use and payment of overtime to staff; the receipt and handling of unemployment and workers compensation claims; and the receipt and use of certain restricted (i.e. non-general use) funds. The City of Puyallup’s 2018 budget totaled more than $147 million.
“The results of this independent audit reflect hard work on the part of our staff to employ best practices in our financial operations,” said interim City Manager Steve Kirkelie. “We recognize and accept the importance of ensuring that public funds are utilized in the most efficient and beneficial way possible.”
Current and past audit reports for the City of Puyallup are available at http://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch.