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State Auditor's E-Update - 6/18/2021

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

2. Available: Fire Relief Association Training – Live Webinars

3. TIF: 2021 County TIF Training

4. Avoiding Pitfall: Audit Follow-up


1. Message from Auditor Blaha

Juneteenth, a now federally recognized holiday, is vitally important to our history as a country. And it may be new to you.

Juneteenth celebrates the date that enslaved people were freed in Galveston, TX: June 19, 1865. Many of us know about the Emancipation Proclamation signed in 1862 -- but the reality is that it took over two years for the news to reach all enslaved people. Juneteenth, Freedom Day, is a celebration and a reminder that we are just beginning the work of dismantling systemic racism, oppression, and inequity in this country.

The National Museum of African American History & Culture is a wonderful resource to learn about and share the history of Juneteenth.

Please take time to learn about Juneteenth and share with those in your community. Happy Freedom Day!


2. Available: Fire Relief Association Training – Live Webinars

The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is pleased to offer training for relief association officers, board members, and auditors. The training will cover topics designed to help relief association trustees be successful in the administration of their pension plans.

To address concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, three live webinars are replacing the typical in-person classroom sessions. The webinars are free of charge and will be held:

  • Wednesday, July 14 – 2:00–3:30pm (New Trustee Training)
  • Thursday, July 22 – 2:00–3:30pm (Legislative Update)
  • Tuesday, July 27 – 2:00–3:30pm (Question and Answer Session)

For more information and to register for the three training webinars, go to:

If you have any questions, please contact the Pension Division at pension@osa.state.mn.us or (651) 282-6110.


3. TIF: 2021 County TIF Training

The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is pleased to offer tax increment financing (TIF) training for county staff who work with TIF in administering the property tax system. Others interested in tax increment financing may participate and find this webinar useful, understanding that the content is targeted to county staff. TIF Authority training is offered in even-numbered years and a recording of last year's training is available on our website.

This free training will be offered in a live webinar format and will be held:

  • Wednesday, July 14 – 9:30am–12:00pm
  • Tuesday, July 20 – 1:00–3:30pm

A recording of the webinar will also be available at the OSA website soon after the last session.

For more information and to register, click here.


4. Avoiding Pitfall: Audit Follow-up

Making timely and practical use of audit findings should be a key part of a public entity’s internal control system. When a public entity’s auditor provides audit findings, the public entity should develop a corrective action plan to resolve each finding. The corrective action plan should identify the person responsible for resolving the finding and the anticipated completion date for resolution of the finding. Progress on resolving the findings should be monitored by the entity's governing body until the findings are either fully resolved or no longer applicable.

This Avoiding Pitfall is available on our website here.