Accountability Audit Report
Port of Seattle
For the period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 







Published (Inserted by OS)
Report No. 1025987

Office of the Washington State Auditor
Pat McCarthy
Issue Date  (Inserted by OS)

Board of Commissioners
Port of Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Report on Accountability
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you to promote accountability, integrity and openness
in government. The Office of the Washington State Auditor takes seriously our role of providing
state and local governments with assurance and accountability as the independent auditor of public
accounts. In this way, we strive to help government work better, cost less, deliver higher value and
earn greater public trust.
Independent audits provide essential accountability and transparency for Port operations. This
information is valuable to management, the governing body and public stakeholders when
assessing the government's stewardship of public resources.
Attached is our independent audit report on the Port's compliance with applicable requirements
and safeguarding of public resources for the areas we examined. We appreciate the opportunity to
work with your staff and we value your cooperation during the audit.
Sincerely,


Pat McCarthy
State Auditor
Olympia, WA



Insurance Building, P.O. Box 40021  Olympia, Washington 98504-0021  (564) 999-0950  Pat.McCarthy@sao.wa.gov

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Audit Results ................................................................................................................................... 4 
Related Reports ............................................................................................................................... 6 
Information about the Port .............................................................................................................. 7 
About the State Auditor's Office ..................................................................................................... 8 















Office of the Washington State Auditor                                                                                Page 3

AUDIT RESULTS
Results in brief
This report describes the overall results and conclusions for the areas we examined. In those
selected areas, Port operations complied, in all material respects, with applicable state laws,
regulations, and its own policies, and provided adequate controls over the safeguarding of public
resources.
However, during the audit certain matters came to our attention that are currently under
investigation.
In keeping with general auditing practices, we do not examine every transaction, activity, policy,
internal control, or area. As a result, no information is provided on the areas that were not
examined.

About the audit
This report contains the results of our independent accountability audit of the Port of Seattle from
January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.
Management is responsible for ensuring compliance and adequate safeguarding of public resources
from fraud, loss or abuse. This includes the design, implementation and maintenance of internal
controls relevant to these objectives.
This audit was conducted under the authority of RCW 43.09.260, which requires the Office of the
State Auditor to examine the financial affairs of all local governments. Our audit involved
obtaining evidence about the Port's uses of public resources, compliance with state laws and
regulations and its own policies and procedures, and internal controls over such matters. The
procedures performed were based on our assessment of risks in the areas we examined.
Based on our risk assessment for the year ended December 31, 2018, the areas examined were
those representing the highest risk of fraud, loss, abuse, or noncompliance. We examined the
following areas during this audit period:
Self-insurance  for property, health and welfare, and workers compensation
Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT)  creation of new vendors, modifications to vendor
bank accounts, and disbursements
Procurement  of  professional  service  contracts    procurement  of  contracts  and
compliance with state law
Fire Department overtime pay  payroll overtime process and compliance with
Department policy and union rules

Office of the Washington State Auditor                                                                                Page 4

Bell Harbor Marina  cash receipting process
Public works projects  evaluation process for using employees for public works
projects at the Marine Maintenance department

















Office of the Washington State Auditor                                                                                Page 5

RELATED REPORTS
Financial
A financial statement audit was performed by a firm of certified public accountants. That firm's
report is available on our website at http://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch. 

Federal grant programs
A firm of certified public accountants evaluated internal controls and tested compliance with the
federal program requirements, as applicable, for the Port's major federal programs. That firm's
report is available on our website at http://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch. 













Office of the Washington State Auditor                                                                                Page 6

INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORT
The Port is a municipal corporation of the State of Washington (the State), organized on
September 5, 1911, under the State statute RCW 53.04.010 et seq. In 1942, the local governments
in King County, Washington (the County) selected the Port to operate the Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport.
Port policies are established by a five-member Commission elected at-large by the voters of the
County for four-year terms. The Commission appoints the Executive Director (ED), who oversees
daily operations of the organization.  Through resolutions and directives, the Commission sets
policy for the Port.  These policies are then implemented by the ED and his executive staff.
The Port is comprised of three operating divisions, namely Aviation, Maritime, and Economic
Development.  The Aviation Division manages the Airport.  The Maritime Division manages
industrial property connected with maritime businesses, recreational marinas, Fishermen's
Terminal, cruise, grain and maritime operations.  The Economic Development Division focuses
on managing the Port's industrial and commercial properties including conference and event
centers,  encouraging  tourism,  developing  small  business  opportunities,  and  providing  for
workforce development in the aviation, maritime and construction industries.
For 2018, the Port had total operating revenues of $689.4 million, which represents a 9.1 percent
increase from 2017. Total operating expenses increased from $373 million in 2017 to $397.7
million in 2018. The Port's net operating income before depreciation increased $32.7 million from
2017 to 2018.
Contact information related to this report
Address:         Port of Seattle
Attn: Debbi Browning
P.O. Box 1209
Seattle, WA 98111
Contact:          Debbi Browning, Assistant Director, General Accounting & Business
Telephone:       206-787-3081
Website:         www.portseattle.org
Information current as of report publish date.

Audit history
You  can  find  current  and  past  audit  reports  for  the  Port  of  Seattle   at 
http://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch.

Office of the Washington State Auditor                                                                                Page 7

ABOUT THE STATE AUDITOR'S OFFICE
The State Auditor's Office is established in the state's Constitution and is part of the executive
branch of state government. The State Auditor is elected by the citizens of Washington and serves
four-year terms.
We work with our audit clients and citizens to achieve our vision of government that works for
citizens, by helping governments work better, cost less, deliver higher value, and earn greater
public trust.
In fulfilling our mission to hold state and local governments accountable for the use of public
resources, we also hold ourselves accountable by continually improving our audit quality and
operational efficiency and developing highly engaged and committed employees.
As an elected agency, the State Auditor's Office has the independence necessary to objectively
perform audits and investigations. Our audits are designed to comply with professional standards
as well as to satisfy the requirements of federal, state, and local laws.
Our audits look at financial information and compliance with state, federal and local laws on the
part of all local governments, including schools, and all state agencies, including institutions of
higher education. In addition, we conduct performance audits of state agencies and local
governments as well as fraud, state whistleblower and citizen hotline investigations.
The results of our work are widely distributed through a variety of reports, which are available on
our website and through our free, electronic subscription service.
We take our role as partners in accountability seriously, and provide training and technical
assistance to governments, and have an extensive quality assurance program.
Contact information for the State Auditor's Office 
Public Records requests  PublicRecords@sao.wa.gov 
Main telephone  (564) 999-0950
Toll-free Citizen Hotline   (866) 902-3900
Website  www.sao.wa.gov 



Office of the Washington State Auditor                                                                                Page 8