Non-Conference Education
The mission of the WFOA Education Committee is to provide Washington public entities and their staff with professional training in finance, budgeting, accounting, reporting, and other relevant fields. This professional training provides budget and finance professionals the opportunity to meet face-to-face, exchange ideas with others, and enhance their knowledge which will assist them in promoting the professional management of government financial resources. The professional educational opportunities also enable our members to maintain their status as Professional Finance Officers, CPAs, and/or other similar professional designations. If you would like to join the Education Committee or have questions about educational courses offered, please contact the Education Chair at educationcommittee@wfoa.org.
Is there a topic you would like to see presented? Submit your feedback here.
Upcoming Educational Opportunities
WFOA – Training Opportunities
Cybercrimes and Scams - In Person Class
Tuesday February 10, 2026
9:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Kirkland Justice Center, Totem Lake Room
11750 NE 118th Street
Kirkland, WA 90834
$75 Member / $100 Non-Member
This class will be presented in person in Kirkland.
Join Kirkland Detective Russ Kaufman for a presentation and conversation on common cybercrimes and scams. We will cover topics such as business email compromises, customer service impersonation, investment scams, other schemes, and more.
Speaker: Russ Kaufman has been with Kirkland PD for nine years and currently assigned as a Detective and Task Force Officer with Seattle FBI's Cyber Crime Task Force. Prior to Kirkland, he worked in payroll and tech services for Automatic Data Processing for 10 years.
Overview of BARS - In Person Class
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
8:00am - 4:30pm
Location: Federal Way City Hall, Council Chambers
33325 8th Ave S
Federal Way, WA 98003
Parking note: Parking in the neighboring Mechanics Bank lot and walking over is permitted and encouraged.
$175 Member / $225 Non-Member
This class will be presented in person in Federal Way
Specialists from the Office of the Washington State Auditor will present an overview of the BARS Manual and the reporting requirements for the governments that use it. This class is intended for both cash and GAAP basis governments. The State Auditor’s Office presents the course materials for people with varying levels of governmental accounting knowledge and experience, from novice to expert.
After taking this class, attendees will be able to:
• Explain the purpose of the BARS Manual and why it is required
• Navigate and search the BARS Manual
• Employ fund accounting, including identifying and evaluating fund types
• Identify the four types of interfund activities
• Use the BARS Chart of Accounts and generate BARS codes as prescribed
• Understand the annual online filing reporting requirements
Overview of BARS - In Person Class
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
8:00am - 4:30pm
Location:
City of Ellensburg, Hal Holmes Center
201 N Ruby Street
Ellensburg, WA 98926
$175 Member / $225 Non-Member
This class will be presented in person in Ellensburg
Specialists from the Office of the Washington State Auditor will present an overview of the BARS Manual and the reporting requirements for the governments that use it. This class is intended for both cash and GAAP basis governments. The State Auditor’s Office presents the course materials for people with varying levels of governmental accounting knowledge and experience, from novice to expert.
After taking this class, attendees will be able to:
• Explain the purpose of the BARS Manual and why it is required
• Navigate and search the BARS Manual
• Employ fund accounting, including identifying and evaluating fund types
• Identify the four types of interfund activities
• Use the BARS Chart of Accounts and generate BARS codes as prescribed
• Understand the annual online filing reporting requirements
Beginning Excel Webinar
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Steve Rogers, Finance Manager for Kitsap 911, will present an interactive course covering a wide range of topics. It will begin with writing basic formulas, formatting, sorting, filtering, exploring menu options, creating basic lookup formulas and pivot tables. For this course, a computer is highly recommended, and attendees should at a minimum be familiar with how to work with Excel.
Intermediate/Advanced Excel 1 Webinar
Thursday, April 16, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Federal Awards Requirements (Includes Grants) Webinar
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
8:00am - 3:00pm
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
This Class covers the essentials of the federal requirements for managing, spending and auditing federal awards. The authoritative set of requirements, found in Part 200 of Title 2 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, is called the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards – or more commonly, the “Uniform Guidance.”
The objectives of this class are for participants to get an overview of the most important and common compliance requirements and learn where to keep reading about the areas most applicable to them. In this way, local governments can better understand the Uniform Guidance, which will help them design effective internal controls to meet these requirements and better manage their federal awards.
Topics covered:
• Introduction to the Uniform Guidance (including high-level information on revisions)
• Understanding the Uniform Guidance Cost Principles
• Overview of the common administrative requirements
• Essentials for implementing internal controls
• Preparing the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
• Details about the federal single audit
• Available resources
Intermediate/Advanced Excel 2 Webinar
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Beginning Excel Webinar
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Steve Rogers, Finance Manager for Kitsap 911, will present an interactive course covering a wide range of topics. It will begin with writing basic formulas, formatting, sorting, filtering, exploring menu options, creating basic lookup formulas and pivot tables. For this course, a computer is highly recommended, and attendees should at a minimum be familiar with how to work with Excel.
Beginning Accounting Webinar
Thursday, June 25, 2026
9:00am - 11:30am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
The beginning accounting class will be conducted via a webinar taught by Bret Brodersen. Bret is the Finance Director for the City of Centralia. He teaches accounting at the local community college. Bret is a current WFOA Board member, chair of the Professional Rules and Operational Standards Committee.
The Beginning Accounting class will cover the basics for practical accounting. Included are:
• T Accounts
• Debits & Credits
• General Ledgers
• Assets & Liabilities
• Revenues and Expenditures (Expenses)
• Fund accounting (types of funds)
Intermediate/Advanced Excel 3 Webinar
Thursday, July 9, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Intermediate/Advanced Excel 4 Webinar
Thursday, August 20, 2026
9:00am - 11:00am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
Federal Awards Requirements (Includes Grants) Webinar
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
8:00am - 3:00pm
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
This Class covers the essentials of the federal requirements for managing, spending and auditing federal awards. The authoritative set of requirements, found in Part 200 of Title 2 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, is called the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards – or more commonly, the “Uniform Guidance.”
The objectives of this class are for participants to get an overview of the most important and common compliance requirements and learn where to keep reading about the areas most applicable to them. In this way, local governments can better understand the Uniform Guidance, which will help them design effective internal controls to meet these requirements and better manage their federal awards.
Topics covered:
• Introduction to the Uniform Guidance (including high-level information on revisions)
• Understanding the Uniform Guidance Cost Principles
• Overview of the common administrative requirements
• Essentials for implementing internal controls
• Preparing the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
• Details about the federal single audit
• Available resources
Intermediate Accounting Webinar
Thursday,December 10, 2026
9:00am - 11:30am
$50 Member / $75 Non-Member
This class will be presented online.
This class will be presented online by Bret Brodersen. Bret is the Finance Director for the City of Centralia. He teaches accounting at the local community college. Bret is a current WFOA Board member, chair of the Professional Rules and Operational Standards Committee.
The Intermediate Accounting class will cover the basics of financial reporting. Included are:
• Basic Financial Statements Overview
• Balance Sheets
• Income Statements
• Statement of Cash Flows
- Each attendee must register with their email
- Must be logged into the ZOOM webinar with their registered email
- Have the Zoom meeting on their active screen in order to answer the polling questions.
- Three polling questions will be administered for every 50 minutes in order to be eligible for 1 CPE. (Example – 4 hour session will have 12 polling questions).
Registration Cancelation Policy
Cancellation/substitution requests must be received in writing by Admin@wfoa.org. In-person events, a refund is available until 14 business days less a $20 administrative fee. Webinar events, a refund is available until 3 business days less a $20 or 25% of registration fee, whichever is less. No refund will be issued after the business days listed but can be appealed in writing. The appeal can take up to 45 days for determination. Substitutions after the business days listed may be allowed for a $10 fee.