Shari Phiel
The Columbian
CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — A recent state Auditor’s Office report found Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency understated $3.99 million in revenue and expenses between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025.
CRESA is the 911 dispatch and emergency management agency for all public safety departments in Clark County.
According to the Sept. 17 audit report, “the agency purchased radios for other entities, such as cities and counties, and then received reimbursement from each entity. When the agency received reimbursements, it netted the revenue against the expense. As a result, the financial statements did not reflect any of this activity.”
Revenue and expenses should be recorded at the gross amount, and not include refunds, rebates or other deductions, according to the report.
The audit also found CRESA did not have a process in place to analyze the transactions to ensure they were reported accurately and that its existing review process was insufficient.
“The agency was not aware of the correct accounting treatment for external parties’ reimbursements and did not perform sufficient research to determine the correct accounting treatment,” the report states.
A response from CRESA included in the audit report said the emergency services agency planned to document the accounting guidance and analysis provided by the state, but disagreed with the findings.
“There is no (governmental accounting standards board) standard that specifically addresses the accounting treatment for this particular type of transaction. In the absence of directly applicable authoritative guidance, management exercised professional judgment based on the nature and economic substance of the arrangement,” according to CRESA.
In the response, CRESA officials said the agency’s role was to assist with purchasing the radio equipment on behalf of other agencies, which had approved the purchases and took ownership of the equipment.
The response from CRESA also stated it did not acquire the radios for its own operations, retain ownership or receive an operational benefit, and that its role was administrative: coordinating purchases, procurement, programming and distribution of the equipment.
“Based on the substance of the arrangement, management recorded the radio purchases as expenditures and the corresponding reimbursements as reductions of those expenditures, resulting in net presentation. Management concluded that this treatment appropriately reflected the pass-through nature of the activity and CRESA’s limited administrative role,” according to the response.
Recording the gross expense and revenue would, in fact, overstate the agency’s operations, according to CRESA.
The audit found no other issues or instances of noncompliance.
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