Assistant State Auditor 1, 2, or 3 (Tri-Cities - Kennewick)

State of Washington; Kennewick (WA); Hybrid; USD 49,000 - 96,000; Full time

Job summary

The Office of the Washington State Auditor in Kennewick, WA is seeking Assistant State Auditors 1, 2, or 3 to join Team Tri-Cities. This in‑training path involves auditing state and local governments with field work and team collaboration in a hybrid environment.

Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree with accounting courses or equivalent experience, with mentoring and ongoing training opportunities as you advance through the program in Kennewick.

Qualifications

• Written and verbal communication skills required.
• Time/project management abilities needed.
• Understanding of accounting concepts related to auditing.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to collaborate with team.

Responsibilities

• Plan and conduct audits for state agencies and local governments.
• Mentor in-training staff and review work.
• Participate in special investigations as needed.
• Perform fieldwork with audit teams.

Skills

Written and Verbal Communication

Time/Project Management

Accounting concepts/principles

Critical thinking

Team Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree with accounting courses

Experience in accounting/auditing

Equivalent education/experience

Job description

Assistant State Auditor 1, 2, or 3 - Tri-Cities - Kennewick

This recruitment is to fill a vacancy in our Kennewick office. Application review will begin on October 13, 2026, and you are encouraged to submit your application materials as soon as possible. The hiring manager reserves the right to close the posting at any time once a selection has been made. Applicants should expect to be onsite at our Kennewick office regularly throughout the duration of their initial onboarding and training. While we offer a flexible/hybrid environment, telework opportunities will be limited until staff progress further on in their career.

About SAO:

At the State Auditor’s Office, we work together to make a difference in how our state government operates. With 15 offices statewide, we are looking for innovative, talented people to join our team to help us continue our important work. Get to know us! We take pride in serving various governments and the people of Washington State. Learn more about who we are and what we do on social media, using the hashtag #WeAreSAO and on our website at https://sao.wa.gov/about-sao/what-we-do.

Our Culture:

We are committed to building and maintaining a workplace environment that is collaborative and supports all employees as we effectively carry out the agency’s mission. This includes ensuring inclusion and equity throughout the agency, while embracing the individual differences of our employees and clients. We believe that diverse perspectives and backgrounds are fundamental to doing our best work. The Washington State Auditor’s Office (SAO) prides itself in offering flexible schedules and a hybrid work environment that helps our staff balance work and life.

About the Role: Assistant State Auditor

Auditing is an excellent opportunity for innovators. It's your chance to join us in the search for new ideas to ensure our audits are relevant and provide value to the governments we audit. It's a career in which you can take pride in the work you do and the services we perform for the citizens of Washington State. We are currently looking to fill an Assistant State Auditor position in Kennewick, WA.

About Team Tri-Cities:

Team Tri-Cities is one of 17 local audit teams within the Office of the Washington State Auditor and is responsible for conducting audits primarily in Benton, Columbia, Franklin, and Walla Walla Counties. We also conduct some audits in Adams and Grant Counties. Team Tri-Cities has an office in Kennewick and a sub-office in Walla Walla. We perform about 120 audits on an annual basis. Our audits include accountability, financial and federal grant compliance audits and cover a wide variety of entities such as cities, counties, public housing authorities, different types of districts such as schools, fire, conservation, irrigation, hospital, health, library, public transportation, utility, ports, public facilities, and other miscellaneous entity types.

Team Tri-Cities seeks to be a partner with our audit clients through clear communication and mutual respect in promoting accountability, accurate reporting, and transparency to best serve our communities and citizens. Together, we want to make a difference.

Within the agency, Team Tri-Cities promotes the Office’s mission and values, and a professional, respectful, and constructive work environment. We value our team members and support them in their growth and development through a customized training program that fits their needs to help them be successful and obtain audit skills. Our training program includes internal and external educational training opportunities, online resources, one on one in person training and remote guidance. Our main goal is to work in the environment that is best suited for our individual team members and audit clients that offers the most support while promoting efficiency throughout the audit process. We want to empower our team members to perform their best.

Diversity and inclusion are important to us. We appreciate the value and strengths that each team member brings to our team and consistently seek feedback from all team members to continuously improve any aspect of our team processes and environment. We are passionate about what we do, and our team culture revolves around being supportive, team-oriented, accountable, collaborative, and flexible.

Successful Assistant State Auditors come from many backgrounds.

The primary competencies required for this role is:

• Written and verbal communication
• Time/Project Management
• Understanding of Accounting concepts/principles as they relate to Auditing.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skill
• Team Collaboration: Ability to build effective working relationships.

Assistant State Auditor 1 ($4,406 - $5,928)

This is the first level of our in‑training program for staff with little audit experience. The Office provides classes, on‑the‑job training time, and work product review and feedback to assist new auditors in gaining skills to move to the next level. Most work is completed in the field at the governmental entity, with employees working in teams.

Job Qualification Requirement:

• Option 1 - Requires a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of three college‑level accounting courses.
• Option 2 - Education may be substituted with experience. Total experience must be 4‑years of business or relevant experience, of which a minimum of 1‑year in accounting/auditing is required.
• Option 3 - Any equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Assistant State Auditor 2 ($5,111 - $6,870)

In this second level of our in‑training program, auditors continue to build upon the experience they gained through work as an Assistant State Auditor 1 or through comparable work at another organization. At this level, employees may be assigned opportunities to plan and conduct audits, participate in client discussions and/or presentations under the guidance of a supervisor or Audit Lead.

Job Qualification Requirement:

• Option 1 - Requires a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of three college‑level accounting courses as well as one year of relevant experience. Government audit experience preferred.
• Option 2 - Education may be substituted with experience. Total experience must be 5‑years of business or relevant experience, of which a minimum of 2‑years in accounting/auditing is required. Government audit experience preferred.
• Option 3 - Any equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Assistant State Auditor 3 ($6,384 - $8,583)

This is the journey level of our Assistant State Auditor series. Staff at this level are responsible for planning and conducting risk‑based financial & legal compliance, audits of Washington State agencies and local governments. They may also perform special investigations pertaining to citizen concerns and/or frauds. Journey level auditors review the work and provide mentoring to in‑training level staff.

Job Qualification Requirement:

• Option 1 - Requires a bachelor's degree and completion of at least three college‑level accounting classes and two years of relevant experience. Government audit experience preferred.
• Option 2 - Education may be substituted with experience. Total experience must be 6‑years of relevant experience, of which a minimum of 3‑years in accounting or auditing is required. Government audit experience preferred.
• Option 3 - Any equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Education and years of experience combined with demonstrated competencies will determine Assistant State Auditor placement.

We offer a comprehensive package of health and wellness benefits to employees, including:

• Full benefits package. Click here to learn more.
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays.
• Growth and development opportunities, including 80+ hours of training each biennium.
• Educational and professional certification reimbursements.
• An agency‑wide commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion in the workplace.

Degrees awarded outside the United States must include a credential evaluation report. Applications that require a credential evaluation report and do not include one will be disqualified. If you are a US Veteran and would like to apply for Veteran's Preference, attach a copy of Form DD214 military record showing qualifying discharge.

Questions may be directed to the applications unit at [e-mail]. The Office of the Washington State Auditor is an equal opportunity employer. Persons with a disability, who need assistance in the application or testing process, or who need this announcement in an alternative format, may call [phone] or via the telecommunications relay service by dialing 7-1-1.