State Auditor's In-Service Training

Hello all,

I returned this evening from a 3-day training session sponsored by the County Commissioners Association of West Virginia (CCAWV) at the Resort at Glade Springs in Daniels, WV. The session was the annual State Auditor's In-Service Training, a mandatory requirement for all county commissioners.

Day one of the training offered several round table discussions on topics such as 911 addressing & mapping, dealing with ordinances, and courthouse employees and the role of the commission therein.

Days two and three dealt with common issues faced by county governments including Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB), embezzlement, fraud, the budget process, and audits.

About 150 commissioners and staff attended this year's auditor training. It is very valuable and worthwhile to get to know other commissioners around the state. Many times, any question or problem we would face has been faced by one or more other counties before. So it is a great asset to be able to network and interface with fellow colleagues in addressing common issues and problems. Collectively, there is a lot of experience "in the room" at these training events, and I am glad to be able to leverage that.

This training event helped me to get a better grasp on how we can deal with the OPEB liability in our budgeting process. It also helped me better understand the kinds of fraud that can occur in the workplace, and signs to look for in detecting suspect fiscal activity.

Thanks to CCAWV and the State Auditor's Office for putting on this very beneficial event.

DF