Joshua Casey, Democrat, Joins Race To Challenge Incumbent Washington State Auditor In Response To COVID-19 Preparedness

SEATTLE, May 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Joshua Casey, a resident of Seattle, has made the decision to join the race for Washington's State Auditor. He is challenging the incumbent who, according to Casey, potentially put lives at risk by not understanding the risks of poor planning for a pandemic or disaster.

When asked why he joined the race, Casey said, "It has become apparent through this pandemic that the incumbent auditor's lack of technical expertise has indirectly hindered state and local government's response to COVID-19. Routine audits employed in the private sector, like comprehensive pandemic and disaster planning assessments, have been passed over at the auditor's office?even as the budget increased by almost 20% in two years. As a result, state and local government were forced to work through issues in real time that, with better planning provided through an audit, could have been avoided." Casey then said, "In many states, to be the state auditor, a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) license is required, and when you see poor leadership like this, it is clear why this is the case. To become a CPA, a candidate usually must have an advanced degree, pass the CPA exam, have hands-on experience, and often pass an ethics exam. For this reason, in the private sector, a CPA license is required to sign audit reports?why should the public sector be held to a lower standard?"

Joshua Casey is the only CPA running for the office and is the only candidate with relevant financial and operational audit experience. He has a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in information systems and operations management from the University of Florida. Also, he has over a decade of accounting and auditing experience, including leading and managing teams for two top global audit firms, Deloitte and PwC.

"If elected, in my first few days of holding office, I would identify high-risk areas that are not currently being audited, like a comprehensive disaster preparedness assessment, and add them to the schedule, while also leaving flexibility in the process to address emerging risks," Casey said. "Then, as I've done with many clients, I would review the existing audit processes and identify areas worth modernizing with cutting edge audit technology like Robotics Process Automation (RPA) ? with the aim to streamline existing processes and better utilize the existing budget to perform more efficient and higher quality audits."

Joshua Casey brings a combination of expertise and leadership to his campaign for Washington State Auditor. Further, as a CPA he is required to be independent and objective in his audits?unlike his opponents. Casey looks forward to applying his knowledge in office while prioritizing the safety of all Washingtonians.

SOURCE Joshua Casey for Auditor Campaign