Vinnie Shield, acting supervisor for the Washington State Auditor's Office field team, told Mason County commissioners during a 10:30 a.m. briefing that the office will perform three audits covering Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024: an accountability audit, a financial statement audit and a federal single audit.

The planned accountability audit will use a risk-based approach and will focus on procurement (public works and purchases), the Department of Public Health and Human Services and the county's self‑insurance program for unemployment, Shield said. "For this audit, we utilize a risk based approach to select areas for further review," Tim Veil, the office's lead auditor, said.

Why it matters: the single audit covers federal grant spending and is required when an entity spends at least the federal threshold for annual assistance. Veil said Mason County qualifies as a "normal risk entity" and that the office selected the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund for testing; that program represented 48% of the county's federal grant expenditures for 2024.

The financial statement audit will test whether the county's statements are presented fairly on the cash basis reporting framework and will assess any instances of noncompliance required under government auditing standards. The accountability audit will also include routine checks of compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act and a financial‑condition review, Veil said.

The auditors described reporting levels they may issue: findings (the most significant), management letters (less significant control issues) and exit items (minor observations). Shield noted the office provides engagement letters that include cost estimates and timelines; the team estimated slightly lower costs than the prior year because it is auditing fewer grants and found lower planning risk because the county received a clean audit last year.

Discussion vs. action: the briefing was informational only; no board vote or formal action was recorded. Shield and Veil invited questions and described procedures for sharing confidential documents, weekly status meetings with county staff and the office's dispute and loss‑reporting processes.

What to watch next: the auditors will provide an engagement letter with timelines and the cost estimate and will begin fieldwork with weekly coordination with county staff. The single‑audit work on ARPA spending could lead to program‑level compliance findings if federal requirements are not met.