This series is responsible for administering business and occupation taxes, sales and use tax, and public utility tax, deductions, exemptions, deferrals and credits. These positions conduct audits of businesses in diverse industry groups, including corporate, governmental and nonprofit organizations. A wide variety of financial and nonfinancial records are examined to verify that the business has reported its tax liabilities correctly in compliance with the technical requirements imposed by the Revised code of Washington (RCW), the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), Washington Tax Decisions (WTD), Interim Audit Guidelines (IAG), and Excise Tax Advisories (ETA) as administered by the Washington State Department of Revenue.

Audits are conducted in accordance with laws, regulations and applicable professional standards. These positions require the skills to deal with delicate issues, such as the examination of confidential records that may result in the assessment of tax; and the organizational skills to manage numerous ongoing audits while administering a wide variety of excise tax laws and rules.

This is the entry level of the series. Positions in this classification are considered to be in a training status while learning auditing standards, processes and techniques. These positions perform their work under pre-established guidelines and parameters with close supervision. Audit plans and activities are developed and directed by higher level auditors responsible for the outcome of the audit. Auditors in these positions have limited authority to resolve issues without direction or approval. Work assignments are typically audits of small to mid-sized businesses with industries that engage in routine activities and that utilize minimal or relatively simple accounting systems records.

Evaluates business activity and records to determine if taxpayer is in compliance with applicable tax laws and has correctly reported their tax liability;

Prepares audit plans including the appropriate sampling procedures; conducts interviews to determine accounting practices and prepares preliminary audit adjustments for review by a higher level auditor;

Assesses audit risk by evaluating systems, procedures and controls which support an entity’s financial records;

Identifies tax issues or potential problem areas that need to be brought to a higher level auditor for guidance;

Discusses audit findings and reasons behind the audit adjustments with the taxpayer or representative, such as a CPA or attorney; educates the taxpayer on proper reporting procedures;

Works at taxpayer’s place of business using a laptop computer and electronic reference materials.

There may be instances where individual positions must have additional licenses or certification. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate licenses/certifications are obtained for each position.

Persons legally authorized to work in the U.S. under federal law, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, are eligible for employment unless prohibited by other state or federal law.

Most positions require a Bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting or other related field which included 24 semester or 36 quarter hours of college level accounting and /or one year or two years of professional auditing or accounting experience. Professional accounting or auditing experience can substitute year for year for education but not for the credit hours in accounting.