Winter 2024

Hello Kristine,

2023 was my first year as your elected Washington County Auditor, and I’ll tell you, it was both a challenging and satisfying year!

Challenging in that there was a lot of relationship building and developing new office infrastructure – policies and procedures, archiving, selecting new audit software, strategic planning, etc. (I admit it felt at times like I was back in college burning the midnight oil during finals week!) All that work is extremely satisfying, though, because it supported the office’s work to provide valuable audit recommendations to help improve County government.

Check out our annual report for the highlights!

We have a healthy “to-do” list for 2024. Our team will get out two audits that are currently underway, issue the office’s work plan of the next audits to tackle, and start working on those projects. We will finish implementing our new audit software and start implementing improved communication with the public (such as this newsletter!) We are also preparing for our first peer review (audit of the Auditor) in 2025.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Washington County as their County Auditor. I am also thankful for my talented team who constantly look out for ways to continuously improve County government for the public good.

My best to you for 2024,

Kristine Adams-Wannberg

Washington County Auditor

Call for Audit Topics!

Each year, we make decisions on what to audit at the County. Great ideas come from a wide range of folks inside and outside the County, as well as the general public!

Our capacity is limited to about three audits a year due to staffing, so we have to prioritize what audits we do to align with the resources we have.

That makes audit ideas that come in VERY IMPORTANT in what we consider to audit. If you have ideas, please let us know!

Please submit any audit ideas through our contact form. I’ll be taking ideas for 2024 until Friday, February 16^th.

Submit Your Audit Ideas Here

Financial Policies Audit Highlights Need for Updates

We issued our audit on Washington County’s five financial policies on December 19, 2023.

Washington County government has changed as the population has grown. Our government’s programs and services are more complex, as are the finances that support them. The County’s financial policies need to evolve with a strategic, long-term approach to meet those changing needs.

We compared the five current financial policies to best practices from the Government Finance Officers Association. One of the County policies compares well, and the other four need improvement. There are also several financial areas where no County policies exist.

We appreciate feedback! Please submit any feedback through our contact form.

Status of 2023 Audit Schedule Projects

Audit Name	Start Date	Estimated Completion
ARPA Workforce Development	April 2023	1st Quarter 2024
MSTIP Risk Assessment	April 2023	2nd Quarter 2024
Cash Handling	TBD	TBD

Did You Know...

Each member of your Washington County audit team is required to obtain 80 hours of continuing professional education every two years. This requirement helps auditors maintain their audit training and develop professional competence in specialized areas.

Invite the Auditor!

If you’d like me and/or staff to attend or speak at a meeting with your community group, make a request by emailing us at

countyauditor@washingtoncountyor.gov.

Keep in Touch

You can download and view electronic copies of our reports here.

Or, you can obtain copies of our reports by contacting us at:

Washington County Auditor’s Office

221 S. First Ave, MS 31

Hillsboro, OR 97123-3901

(503) 846-8798 | countyauditor@washingtoncountyor.gov