Representatives from the Washington State Auditor's Office briefed the Mill Creek City Council on July 29 about the scope and timeline of the city's upcoming audits, saying the office will perform accountability, financial-statement and federal-compliance work covering 2023'24 and fiscal year 2024.

Courtney Amundson, audit manager for the Everett team, described the auditor's standard objectives: an accountability audit that reviews compliance with laws, regulations and contracts; a financial statement audit to express an opinion on whether the financial statements are fairly presented; and a federal compliance (Single Audit-style) examination because the city spent more than $750,000 in federal funds in fiscal 2024.

Audit lead Maki Pineda outlined specific areas selected for focused testing this year: treasury activities (motivated by recent fraud involving unusual EFT transactions), accounts-payable testing (including credit and field card use), cash-receiving and theft-sensitive assets, and a payroll conversion review triggered by the city's 2024 switch from ADP to Springbrook. The office also intends to review open public-meetings compliance and the city's overall financial condition.

Auditors explained procedures for keeping the city updated during the engagement: weekly status meetings with an audit liaison, an exit conference for report presentation to council, and secure document-sharing procedures. They described reporting levels (audit findings, management letters and exit items) and noted that findings will be published in the audit report and the city will be afforded the chance to respond for publication alongside findings.

The auditors also reminded the council of state reporting requirements for suspected loss and data-breach reporting to state offices and described resources the Auditor's Office provides year-round, including local government support, training and the State's financial-intelligence tool.

No audit findings were reported at the session; auditors said the work had just begun and requested cooperation from city staff so they could complete fieldwork, return a draft report and hold an exit conference for council review.