The Aud Pod

In this episode of the Aud Pod we like to call “Ten Questions With…” you’ll get to know Sonya Singh, SAO’s IT Systems Assistant Audit Manager, through her thoughtful responses to 10 questions. Sonya discusses her career journey, the challenges andrewards of working for the State Auditor’s Office, what motivates her to serve the public, and drops a few fun insights you won’t find on a LinkedIn prof...

For more than 100 years local governments in our state have filed their annual financial reports with what is now the Office of the Washington State Auditor. It’s a process that takes place ‘behind the scenes’ to most Washingtonians, but one that has far-reaching effects for government transparency and accountability. Why does this matter and how does it affect the residents of our state? Luckily...

The Office of the Washington State Auditor was really, really busy in fiscal year 2025 publishing 2,967 audits, fielding 692 submissions to its Citizen Hotline and much more. In this episode of the Aud Pod, the State Auditor’s exclusive podcast, Deputy State Auditor Kelly Collins goes into more detail about those numbers and several more, to provide a fascinating look at the breadth of SAO’s work...

What do local governments think of the free, award-winning cyber checkup service from the Office of the Washington State Auditor? We asked City of Port Townsend's Network Administrator, David Olsen, that very same question! Hear what he had to say in this episode of the Aud Pod as he shares his thoughts with SAO’s Cybersecurity Specialist, Daniel Mann. David and the City were one of the first...

In Washington state, governments lose on average $52,000 per fraud incident. From 2021 through October 2025, the Office of the Washington State Auditor investigated and reported on more than $6 million in misappropriated funds, and reviewed cases totaling another $14 million in cyber-related losses. In his episode of the Aud Pod, we talk with a key player helping lead the fight against fraud in go...

In October 2025 State Auditor Pat McCarthy stopped by NewsRadio KONA 610 serving the mid-Columbia region of Washington state to appear with hosts Robb Francis and John McKay on their radio program, “The Bottom Line.” This special edition of The Aud Pod features highlights from their wide-ranging discussion covering several areas including: ·        The importance of independent auditing in the rol...

Local governments are increasingly becoming attractivetargets for cyber criminals because of the vast amounts of sensitive data they maintain about employees, infrastructure and their residents. That’s why SAO’s Center for Government Innovation offers a host of cybersecurity resources andservices highlighted by its unique cyber checkup program. The Center’s cyber checkups provide a fast, free andi...

Did you know the Office of the Washington State Auditor systematically audits every local investigation into police use of deadly force? In fact, we were the first state auditor’s office in the country to do so, starting in the fall of 2022.Our work continues today, and two of our experts who specialize in these audits are on The Aud Pod to explain these unique reports: the principles behind them,...

In addition to promoting fiscal responsibility in government through our audits of local and state governments, our Office also provides valuable help for governments. The Center for Government Innovation (a.k.a. the Center) is a special service of the Washington State Auditor’s Office that provides free resources, guides and services to help local governments run more efficiently and effectively....

In this episode of The Aud Pod, SAO’s Joanna Bailey talks with an HR Director for a local government about their experience with our free Lean services workshop designed to help governments improve their work processes and run more efficiently. (Who doesn’t want that?) It’s chock full of great information and insight, so listen in today and add us to your playlist for future Aud Pod episodes! As a...

Our office gets a lot of questions about Performance Audits – for example, how are they different than other audits, and how do we choose the topics? In this episode of The Aud Pod, you’ll hear from our Director of Performance Audit, Scott Frank. We’ll do our best to tell you everything you might want to know about performance audits. If we didn’t cover one of your questions, or want to suggest a...

Who best to introduce The Aud Pod than State Auditor Pat McCarthy! Find out why we created a podcast for the Office (hint: it was thought of long before COVID-19 hit Washington), some common misconceptions she often hears about the Office and what you can expect to hear on upcoming episodes.