Spokane receives cleanest financial audit in 15 years

It’s not often that the city’s Finance and Administration Committee erupts in applause.

But that was the case in the Council Briefing Center last Monday, when officials learned that an audit of the city’s 2018 financial reports, as well as its compliance with major federal grant requirements, found no major issues.

It’s the first time since at least 2004 that the city has received such a clean bill of financial health, the city’s auditors told the committee. It’s no small task in a city with a $975 million annual budget.

Though the city’s financial statements have been audited without significant findings once before, this is the first time in more than a decade that its compliance with federal grants and financial statements have both turned up completely clean in the same report.

The city has also corrected the major findings of previous audits, according to the new report.