Non-Conference Education
The mission of the WFOA Education Committee is to provide Washington public entities and their staff with professional training in finance, budgeting, accounting, reporting, and other relevant fields. This professional training provides budget and finance professionals the opportunity to meet face-to-face, exchange ideas with others, and enhance their knowledge which will assist them in promoting the professional management of government financial resources. The professional educational opportunities also enable our members to maintain their status as Professional Finance Officers, CPAs, and/or other similar professional designations. If you would like to join the Education Committee or have questions about educational courses offered, please contact the Education Chair at educationcommittee@wfoa.org.
Upcoming 2024 Educational Opportunities
WFOA – Training Opportunities
BARS - Cash/GAAP Webinar
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
9:00am - 4:00pm
Lunch break 12:00pm-1:00pm
$125 Member / $175 Non-Member
This class will be presented online. Specialists from the Office of the Washington State Auditor will present an overview of the BARS Manual and the reporting requirements for the governments that use it. This class is intended for both cash and GAAP basis governments. The State Auditor’s Office presents the course materials for people with varying levels of governmental accounting knowledge and experience, from novice to expert.
After taking this class, attendees will be able to:
- Explain the purpose of the BARS Manual and why it is required
- Navigate and search the BARS Manual
- Employ fund accounting, including identifying and evaluating fund types
- Identify the four types of interfund activities
- Use the BARS Chart of Accounts and generate BARS codes as prescribed
- Understand the annual online filing reporting requirements
Finance Fundamentals: Local Tax Topics for All
TBD February 2025
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
BARS - GAAP/Cash - In person class
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
8:30am - 5:00pm
Lunch break 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Yelm Community Center
301 2nd St SE Yelm, WA 98507
$175 Member / $225 Non-Member
This class will be presented in person. Specialists from the Office of the Washington State Auditor will present an overview of the BARS Manual and the reporting requirements for the governments that use it. This class is intended for both cash and GAAP basis governments. The State Auditor’s Office presents the course materials for people with varying levels of governmental accounting knowledge and experience, from novice to expert.
After taking this class, attendees will be able to:
- Explain the purpose of the BARS Manual and why it is required
- Navigate and search the BARS Manual
- Employ fund accounting, including identifying and evaluating
fund types
- Identify the four types of interfund activities
- Use the BARS Chart of Accounts and generate BARS codes as prescribed
- Understand the annual online filing reporting requirements
Please bring a laptop or other device to participate in the class exercise.
Long-Range Financial Planning Course Webinar
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Federal Award Requirements (Includes Grants) Webinar
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
8:00am - 3:00pm
$125 Member / $175 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
This Class covers the essentials of the federal requirements for managing, spending and auditing federal awards. The authoritative set of requirements, found in Part 200 of Title 2 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, is called the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards – or more commonly, the “Uniform Guidance.”
The objectives of this class are for participants to get an overview of the most important and common compliance requirements and learn where to keep reading about the areas most applicable to them. In this way, local governments can better understand the Uniform Guidance, which will help them design effective internal controls to meet these requirements and better manage their federal awards.
Topics covered:
- Introduction to the Uniform Guidance (including high-level information on the 2024 revisions)
- Understanding the Uniform Guidance Cost Principles
- Overview of the common administrative requirements
- Essentials for implementing internal controls
- Preparing the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
- Details about the federal single audit
- Available resources
Cost Allocation Planning Course Webinar
TBD May, 2025
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Beginning Excel Webinar
June 17, 2025
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online. Steve Rogers, Finance Manager for Kitsap 911 will present an interactive course covering a wide range of topics. It will begin with writing basic formulas, formatting, sorting, filtering, exploring menu options, creating basic lookup formulas and pivot tables. For this course, a computer is highly recommended, and attendees should at a minimum be familiar with how to work in Excel.
Beginning Accounting Webinar
TBD June, 2025
9:00am - 12:00pm
$75 Member / $100 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
The beginning accounting class will be conducted via a webinar taught by Bret Brodersen. Bret is the Finance Director for the City of Centralia. He teaches accounting at the local community college. Bret is a current WFOA Board member, chair of the Professional Rules and Operational Standards Committee.
The Beginning Accounting class will cover the basics for practical accounting. Included are:
- T Accounts
- Debits & Credits
- General Ledgers
- Assets & Liabilities
- Revenues and Expenditures (Expenses)
- Fund accounting (types of funds)
BARS - Cash/GAAP Webinar
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
9:00am - 4:00pm
$125 Member / $175 Non-Member
This class will be presented online. Specialists from the Office of the Washington State Auditor will present an overview of the BARS Manual and the reporting requirements for the governments that use it. This class is intended for both cash and GAAP basis governments. The State Auditor’s Office presents the course materials for people with varying levels of governmental accounting knowledge and experience, from novice to expert.
After taking this class, attendees will be able to:
- Explain the purpose of the BARS Manual and why it is required
- Navigate and search the BARS Manual
- Employ fund accounting, including identifying and evaluating
fund types
- Identify the four types of interfund activities
- Use the BARS Chart of Accounts and generate BARS codes as prescribed
- Understand the annual online filing reporting requirement
Intermediate Excel (Complex Functions) Webinar
TBD July, 2025
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online. Steve Rogers, Finance Manager for Kitsap 911 will present an interactive course covering a wide range of topics progressing to more advanced topics like pivot tables, charts, conditional formatting, advanced formulas, and macros. Before registering in the intermediate course, please be sure you are accomplished at the tasks outlined in Beginning Excel.
Intermediate Excel Webinar
Specific Topic - Conditional formatting, advanced tables and graphs
The focus in this class will be in data presentation and analysis
TBD August, 2025
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online. Steve Rogers, Finance Manager for Kitsap 911 will present an interactive course covering a wide range of topics progressing to more advanced topics like pivot tables, charts, conditional formatting, advanced formulas, and macros. Before registering in the intermediate course, please be sure you are accomplished at the tasks outlined in Beginning Excel.
Intermediate Excel Webinar
Specific Topic - Lookups, references, and conditional functions
The focus in this class will be in data retrieval, manipulation, and interpretation
TBD August, 2025
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online. Steve Rogers, Finance Manager for Kitsap 911 will present an interactive course covering a wide range of topics progressing to more advanced topics like pivot tables, charts, conditional formatting, advanced formulas, and macros. Before registering in the intermediate course, please be sure you are accomplished at the tasks outlined in Beginning Excel.
BARS - GAAP/Cash - In person class
TBD October, 2025
8:30am - 5:00pm
Rose Hill Community Center
304 Lincoln Ave Mukilteo, WA 98275
$175 Member / $225 Non-Member
This class will be presented in person. Specialists from the Office of the Washington State Auditor will present an overview of the BARS Manual and the reporting requirements for the governments that use it. This class is intended for both cash and GAAP basis governments. The State Auditor’s Office presents the course materials for people with varying levels of governmental accounting knowledge and experience, from novice to expert.
After taking this class, attendees will be able to:
- Explain the purpose of the BARS Manual and why it is required
- Navigate and search the BARS Manual
- Employ fund accounting, including identifying and evaluating
fund types
- Identify the four types of interfund activities
- Use the BARS Chart of Accounts and generate BARS codes as prescribed
- Understand the annual online filing reporting requirements
Please bring a laptop or other device to participate in the class exercise.
Public Funds Investing for beginners
TBD December, 2025
9:00am - 12:00pm
$75 Member / $100 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Intermediate Accounting
TBD December, 2025
9:00am - 12:00pm
$75 Member / $100 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
- Each attendee must register with their email
- Must be logged into the ZOOM webinar with their registered email
- Have the Zoom meeting on their active screen in order to answer the polling questions.
- Three polling questions will be administered for every 50 minutes in order to be eligible for 1 CPE. (Example – 4 hour session will have 12 polling questions).
Free Webinar Classes Available
Free eLearning Available from WA State Auditors Office (SAO)
Lease Accounting Standards
Washington State Auditors Office offered classes regarding the new Lease Accounting Standards
Cash receipting
Want to know more about how to protect your organization from cash receipting fraud? SAO’s on-demand training follows an actual fraud case while covering important best practices for internal controls. You’ll learn how to recognize the warning signs and red flags of common fraud schemes and the rewards of developing a strong internal control system and the risks if you don’t. Local government employees are eligible for Continuing Professional Education Credit (CPE) for this course.
Registration Cancelation Policy
Cancelation/substitution requests must be received in writing by Admin@wfoa.org. In-person events, a refund is available until 14 business days less a $20 administrative fee. Webinar events, a refund is available until 3 business days less a $20 or 25% of registration fee, whichever is less. No refund will be issued after the business days listed but can be appealed in writing. The appeal can take up to 45 days for determination. Substitutions after the business days listed may be allowed for a $10 fee.