Accountability Audit Report  
Washington Counties Risk  
Pool  
For the period October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024  
Published May 22, 2025  
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Report No. 1037203  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
Pat McCarthy  
May 22, 2025  
Board of Directors  
Washington Counties Risk Pool  
Tumwater, Washington  
Report on Accountability  
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you to promote accountability, integrity and openness  
in government. The Office of the Washington State Auditor takes seriously our role of providing  
state and local governments with assurance and accountability as the independent auditor of public  
accounts. In this way, we strive to help government work better, cost less, deliver higher value and  
earn greater public trust.  
Independent audits provide essential accountability and transparency for Pool operations. This  
information is valuable to management, the governing body and public stakeholders when  
assessing the government’s stewardship of public resources.  
Attached is our independent audit report on the Pool’s compliance with applicable requirements  
and safeguarding of public resources for the areas we examined. We appreciate the opportunity to  
work with your staff and value your cooperation during the audit.  
Sincerely,  
Pat McCarthy, State Auditor  
Olympia, WA  
Americans with Disabilities  
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, we will make this document available in  
alternative formats. For more information, please contact our Office at (564) 999-0950, TDD  
Relay at (800) 833-6388, or email our webmaster at webmaster@sao.wa.gov.  
Insurance Building, P.O. Box 40021 Olympia, Washington 98504-0021 (564) 999-0950 Pat.McCarthy@sao.wa.gov  
TABLE OF CONTENTS  
Audit Results................................................................................................................................... 4  
Related Reports............................................................................................................................... 5  
Information about the Pool ............................................................................................................. 6  
About the State Auditor's Office..................................................................................................... 7  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
sao.wa.gov  
Page 3  
AUDIT RESULTS  
Results in brief  
This report describes the overall results and conclusions for the areas we examined. In those  
selected areas, Pool operations complied, in all material respects, with applicable state laws,  
regulations, and its own policies, and provided adequate controls over the safeguarding of public  
resources.  
In keeping with general auditing practices, we do not examine every transaction, activity, policy,  
internal control, or area. As a result, no information is provided on the areas that were not  
examined.  
About the audit  
This report contains the results of our independent accountability audit of the Washington Counties  
Risk Pool from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024.  
Management is responsible for ensuring compliance and adequate safeguarding of public resources  
from fraud, loss or abuse. This includes the design, implementation and maintenance of internal  
controls relevant to these objectives.  
This audit was conducted under the authority of RCW 43.09.260, which requires the Office of the  
Washington State Auditor to examine the financial affairs of all local governments. Our audit  
involved obtaining evidence about the Pool’s use of public resources, compliance with state laws  
and regulations and its own policies and procedures, and internal controls over such matters. The  
procedures performed were based on our assessment of risks in the areas we examined.  
Based on our risk assessment for the year ended September 30, 2024, the areas examined were  
those representing the highest risk of fraud, loss, abuse, or noncompliance. We examined the  
following areas during this audit period:  
• Cash receipting – timeliness and completeness of deposits  
• Compliance with solvency requirements  
• Compliance with Inmate Health Monitoring Program  
• Accounts payable – electronic funds transfers  
• Open public meetings – compliance with minutes, meetings and executive session  
requirements  
• Financial condition – reviewing for indications of financial distress  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
sao.wa.gov  
Page 4  
 
RELATED REPORTS  
Financial  
Our opinion on the Pool’s financial statements is provided in a separate report, which includes the  
Pool’s  
financial  
statements.  
That  
report  
is  
available  
on  
our  
website,  
https://portal.sao.wa.gov//ReportSearch.  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
sao.wa.gov  
Page 5  
 
INFORMATION ABOUT THE POOL  
The Washington Counties Risk Pool was established to provide its member counties with joint  
programs and services including self-insurance, purchasing of insurance, and contracting for or  
hiring of personnel to provide risk management, claims handling, and administrative services. The  
Pool began operation on October 1, 1988 and included 25 of Washington States 39 counties for  
the year ended September 30, 2024.  
The Pool is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of one representative designated by each  
member county. Its day-to-day operations are administered by the Board-appointed Executive  
Director who reports to an 11-member Executive Committee and the Board. For the year under  
audit, the Pool operated with an annual operating budget of approximately $3.8 million and ended  
the year down one (1) staff member for a total of 11 employees. Two (2) positions were are added  
at the beginning of FY2025 and the open positions were filled by January 1, 2025 for 14 total  
employees.  
Contact information related to this report  
Contact:  
Telephone:  
Website:  
Deanna Owen, Director of Finance & Operations  
(360) 292-4496  
www.wcrp.info  
Information current as of report publish date.  
Audit history  
You can find current and past audit reports for the Washington Counties Risk Pool at  
https://portal.sao.wa.gov//ReportSearch.  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
sao.wa.gov  
Page 6  
 
ABOUT THE STATE AUDITOR’S OFFICE  
The State Auditor’s Office is established in the Washington State Constitution and is part of the  
executive branch of state government. The State Auditor is elected by the people of Washington  
and serves four-year terms.  
We work with state agencies, local governments and the public to achieve our vision of increasing  
trust in government by helping governments work better and deliver higher value.  
In fulfilling our mission to provide citizens with independent and transparent examinations of how  
state and local governments use public funds, we hold ourselves to those same standards by  
continually improving our audit quality and operational efficiency, and by developing highly  
engaged and committed employees.  
As an agency, the State Auditor’s Office has the independence necessary to objectively perform  
audits, attestation engagements and investigations. Our work is designed to comply with  
professional standards as well as to satisfy the requirements of federal, state and local laws. The  
Office also has an extensive quality control program and undergoes regular external peer review  
to ensure our work meets the highest possible standards of accuracy, objectivity and clarity.  
Our audits look at financial information and compliance with federal, state and local laws for all  
local governments, including schools, and all state agencies, including institutions of higher  
education. In addition, we conduct performance audits and cybersecurity audits of state agencies  
and local governments, as well as state whistleblower, fraud and citizen hotline investigations.  
The results of our work are available to everyone through the more than 2,000 reports we publish  
each year on our website, www.sao.wa.gov. Additionally, we share regular news and other  
information via an email subscription service and social media channels.  
We take our role as partners in accountability seriously. The Office provides training and technical  
assistance to governments both directly and through partnerships with other governmental support  
organizations.  
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Office of the Washington State Auditor  
sao.wa.gov  
Page 7