Governing for Results 13 - Washington State Digital Archives

Department of Retirement Systems
Simplified Employer Auditing
The Employer Audit Team streamlined the employer auditing process by
implementing several improvements. The team designed an automated program
that quickly identifies employer reporting discrepancies. An employer's employee
records are compared against retirement system enrollees to identify unreported
employees who may be entitled to retirement benefits. Employers can then take
immediate action to ensure their employees receive their entitlements. Using the
program saves days of tedious manual work previously required for the employer
and auditor to discover and correct reporting discrepancies. The team created a
findings tracking database to increase customer service to employers. Trend
data of frequently encountered errors are gathered by criteria and type of
employer. The information is used to alert all employers of frequently
encountered errors so they can correct possible reporting errors. The data is also
used to develop training for employers in specific areas.
The team developed a standard audit format that improves the final audit report
production. The new easy-to-read format clearly identifies potential violations that
the employer is responsible for correcting and provides a short administrative
letter of minor discrepancies. The team implemented a new training program that
combined innovation and automation. Instead of the previous one year on-the-job
training approach, now new auditors receive computer-based specialized law
and theory training. The training design is based on scenario type questions used
to ensure auditors know the rules before they begin field audits.
Results
★ Increased the number of employers audited from 24 to 160 audits annually.
★ Increased audit report clarity and brevity resulting in fewer complaints from
employers about conditions found.
★ Decreased average audit duration from 15 days to 5 days.
★ Decreased auditor training time by 66 percent from 12 months to 4 months.
Team Name: Employer Audit Team
Team Members: Phil Jones, Carlos Benavidez, Cerjio Castillo, Helene
Olsen, Mitch Thompson
CONTACT: Phil Jones, (360) 664-7172
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