Financial audit gives Sound Transit ninth consecutive clean bill of health

For the ninth consecutive year, independent auditors have given Sound Transit a clean, unqualified report on the agency's financial health.

"This is a responsibility we take very seriously," said Sound Transit Board Chair and Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg. "But citizens don't have to take our word for it. Independent audits have once again concluded the public's hard-earned tax dollars are being tracked carefully and closely."

The 2005 annual financial audit, conducted by KPMG LLP, found no reportable conditions or material weaknesses involving internal control, and no instances of non-compliance required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. The agency complied in all material respects required by the major federal programs that provide funding for Sound Transit's capital programs.

"The Sound Transit Board will continue to maintain rigorous oversight of the agency's financial management practices. We will not let our guard down," said Sound Transit Finance Committee Chair and Issaquah City Council Member Fred Butler. "This independent annual financial audit is one of the many measures in place to make sure we stay accountable."

Also presented to Sound Transit's Audit and Reporting Subcommittee was an annual subarea report that is conducted by independent auditors. The report found that Sound Transit is continuing to adhere to subarea equity, the agency's financial framework that requires revenues generated in each of five geographic subareas to be used solely for the benefit of that subarea.