Accountability Audit Report  
Washington Counties Risk Pool  
For the period October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019  
Published March 9, 2020  
Report No. 1025765  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
Pat McCarthy  
March 9, 2020  
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 we value your cooperation during the audit.  
Sincerely,  
Pat McCarthy  
State Auditor  
Olympia, WA  
Insurance Building, P.O. Box 40021 Olympia, Washington 98504-0021 (564) 999-0950 Pat.McCarthy@sao.wa.gov  
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, 2018 through September 30, 2019.  
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  
State Auditor to examine the financial affairs of all local governments. Our audit involved  
obtaining evidence about the Pool’s uses 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, 2019, the areas examined were  
those representing the highest risk of fraud, loss, abuse, or noncompliance. We examined the  
following areas during this audit period:  
Payroll gross wages, leave cash outs and electronic funds transfers  
Accounts payable general disbursements and electronic funds transfers  
Compliance with solvency requirements  
Financial condition and fiscal sustainability  
Open public meetings documentation of minutes  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
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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,  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
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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 administrative services, claims handling and risk management.  
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 on an annual operating budget of approximately $2.8 million and had 12  
employees.  
Contact information related to this report  
Address:  
Washington Counties Risk Pool  
2558 R. W. Johnson Road S.W., Suite 106  
Tumwater, WA 98512-6103  
Contact:  
Susan Colbo, Deputy Director of Finance  
(360) 292-4496  
Telephone:  
Website:  
Information current as of report publish date.  
Audit history  
You can find current and past audit reports for the Washington Counties Risk Pool at  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
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ABOUT THE STATE AUDITOR’S OFFICE  
The State Auditor’s Office is established in the state’s Constitution and is part of the executive  
branch of state government. The State Auditor is elected by the citizens of Washington and serves  
four-year terms.  
We work with our audit clients and citizens to achieve our vision of government that works for  
citizens, by helping governments work better, cost less, deliver higher value, and earn greater  
public trust.  
In fulfilling our mission to hold state and local governments accountable for the use of public  
resources, we also hold ourselves accountable by continually improving our audit quality and  
operational efficiency and developing highly engaged and committed employees.  
As an elected agency, the State Auditor’s Office has the independence necessary to objectively  
perform audits and investigations. Our audits are designed to comply with professional standards  
as well as to satisfy the requirements of federal, state, and local laws.  
Our audits look at financial information and compliance with state, federal and local laws on the  
part of all local governments, including schools, and all state agencies, including institutions of  
higher education. In addition, we conduct performance audits of state agencies and local  
governments as well as fraud, state whistleblower and citizen hotline investigations.  
The results of our work are widely distributed through a variety of reports, which are available on  
our website and through our free, electronic subscription service.  
We take our role as partners in accountability seriously, and provide training and technical  
assistance to governments, and have an extensive quality assurance program.  
Contact information for the State Auditor’s Office  
(564) 999-0950  
Public Records requests  
Main telephone  
(866) 902-3900  
Toll-free Citizen Hotline  
Website  
Office of the Washington State Auditor  
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