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.
Is there a topic you would like to see presented? Submit your feedback here.
Upcoming Educational Opportunities
WFOA – Training Opportunities
Intermediate/Advanced Excel 4 Webinar - Summarizing & Analyzing Data
Thursday, August 20, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Transform raw data into actionable insights using SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, PivotTables, and dynamic ranges for powerful reporting. You’ll be able to build dashboards, slice and dice data on the fly, prepare clean data for reporting, and finally make your ex jealous without using “new year, new me” as the caption on your Instagram.
Office 365 is recommended for this course.
Overview of BARS - In Person Class
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
8:00am - 4:30pm
Location:
Bud Van Cleve Room at Luke Jensen Sports Park
4000 NE 78th Street
Vancouver, WA 98665
$175 Member / $225 Non-Member
This class will be presented in person in Vancouver. Please bring a laptop or other device to participate in the class exercises.
Specialists from the Office of the Washington State Auditor will present an overview of the BARS Manual and the reporting requirements 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
• Confidently navigate and search the BARS Manual
• Employ fund accounting, including identifying and evaluating fund types
• Use the BARS Chart of Accounts and generate BARS codes as prescribed
Federal Awards Requirements (Includes Grants) Webinar
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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 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
The Future of Writing
Wednesday, November 18, 2026
12:00pm - 1:00pm
$25 Member / $50 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
You have eight seconds to win the attention of your audience (four seconds if you are using email). In a distracted world bombarded with information, it's more important than ever that we leverage brevity for effective communication. This session includes tips and tricks for making your writing more clear, concise, and compelling.
Intermediate Accounting Webinar
Thursday,December 10, 2026
9:00am - 11:30am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
This class will be presented online 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 Intermediate Accounting class will cover the basics of financial reporting. Included are:
• Basic Financial Statements Overview
• Balance Sheets
• Income Statements
• Statement of Cash Flows
Introduction to Power BI
Wednesday,December 16, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Andrea Kwan CPA, CIA, CISA, CFE serves as the Internal Audit & Compliance Manager for the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. She also teaches auditing and accounting at local community colleges. Join her for an introductory session on Power BI, where you will learn how to create basic visualizations and build simple dashboards that support informed decision-making.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Explain what Power BI is and when to use it
• Import data into Power BI desktop
• Create basic visualizations
• Build and format a simple dashboard
• Understand how dashboards support decision-making
- 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).
Registration Cancelation Policy
Cancellation/substitution requests must be received in writing via Refund Request Form. 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.