Port of Kennewick reports 30 years of clean audits

KENNEWICK — The Port of Kennewick’s 2024 audits, which the Washington State Auditor’s Office officially closed on Aug. 7, came back clean, complete and accurate with no findings. These audits mark 30 years of consecutive clean independent audit reports. 

“I really think it comes down to leadership, both our elected commissioners as well as (Chief Executive Officer) Tim Arntzen and our CFO (Nick Kooiker),” said Tana Bader Inglima, Port Deputy CEO. “They are very committed to being transparent. We understand, from leadership down all the way to all of our staff, that we work for the public and that we are spending their dollars, so we owe them accountability, and we owe them transparency.” 

A press release from the Port of Kennewick said the audits determined the port complied with applicable state laws, regulations, State Auditor’s Office and Governmental Accounting Standards Board oversight and its own policies and procedures and provided adequate controls over public resources. 

“We take a lot of pride in having procedures in place to make sure that nothing gets missed or left out of a process,” said Kooiker.  

He said that everything that is done at the port, whether it’s a new contract, adding a vendor into the accounting system, paying staff and commissioners or applying for insurance policies, goes through a process. The use of new technologies helps make the procedures more efficient, such that every step can be tracked and documented. 

Keeping track of where the money is going and how it is being used at the Port of Kennewick is one of their utmost priorities since they are a government agency spending tax dollars on behalf of the public, said Bader Inglima.  

Tracking exactly where the money is going ensures that the port stays fully transparent and maintains a positive reputation with the public, which is one of the reasons he joined the port 12 years ago, said Kooiker. 

“We have all these projects that we’re taking on, and the public sees those projects and they’re exciting,” he said. “But if the agency that’s doing these projects has a reputation for mismanaging money or mismanaging resources, then I do feel like it’s minimized because I think the public’s always skeptical of projects that are done by somebody that doesn’t have a good reputation.” 

Arntzen has been the CEO of the port for 23 of the last 30 years of clean audits and he said during that time he has seen the standards get tougher at every audit. Along with this, the port continues to expand, adding more revenues, employees and new projects, which means having good staff, such as a CFO, has been integral to their success at the audits. 

“You hire good people that like what they’re doing, who are smart, and then you have to give them the authority to make the tough calls,” he said. “Sometimes that’s telling people, even me, their boss, 'You can’t do it.’” 

In the pursuit of maintaining clean audits, Arntzen said the port is taking special care in the finance department and deciding whether to strengthen the department or leave it as is, depending on the level of regulatory authority incoming. 

“We’re constantly gauging how well staffed we are and right now we’re well staffed,” he said. 

Over the next three years, there will be a few retirements of people who have held longtime positions at the port, which means the port will have to begin looking at options to ensure those positions are filled. 

Kooiker said he is constantly taking time to keep up on new legislation, as that can cause regulations and procedures to change, which can affect an audit. He will also look at the State Auditor’s website and see what they are looking for in other agencies to stay on top of what places have had issues with recently. 

“I started working in Benton County in 2009 and just seeing how things have changed in 16 years in public finance is incredible,” said Kooiker. “Things are so different now, and I think a lot of public agencies kind of fall behind... You’ve got to change with the times a little bit.” 

The work being done by the Port of Kennewick to achieve the 30 years of clean audits is something that everybody involved takes great pride in, said Bader Inglima. She said it is a ringing endorsement of the work that’s being done there along with both the staff and leadership at the port.  

“Thirty years is something that not a lot of government agencies that I know of have been able to achieve,” she said. “We’re quite proud of that moving forward.” 

    Port of Kennewick CFO Nick Kooiker said he joined the port 12 years ago due to its positive reputation and efforts in staying transparent. He sets aside time specifically to stay on top of any changes in regulations or legislation and remain ahead of the curve for clean audits.
  

    Tim Arntzen, CEO of the Port of Kennewick, has held his position at the port for the last 23 years and said that even before him the port has been maintaining these clean audits. He said the key to their success has been the ability to hire people on staff who are qualified and are capable of making difficult decisions.
  

    Deputy CEO Tana Bader Inglima from the Port of Kennewick said the success of the port comes from the leadership from both elected commissioners and the CEO and CFO. She said it’s important for the port to continue to work for the public and be transparent with everything they do.