Supporting Financial Stability: Understanding the SAO FIT Tool-Undserstanding the SAO FIT Tool

Undserstanding the SAO FIT Tool - 10.26.26

Pdf Summary

The webinar explains how to use Washington’s Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) for intermediate and advanced analysis of local-government and school-district finances. Developed by the Washington State Auditor’s Office, FIT provides public access to comparable financial data, including school districts’ F-196 reports and monthly enrollment data. It presents reported data without altering the underlying figures, though labels and displays may be adjusted for clarity.<br /><br />FIT’s core views let users examine individual governments, government types, revenue and expenditure accounts, and financial-health indicators. Options menus can filter years and funds, adjust displays, and add context such as averages, medians, and trimeans. Users can compare districts side by side, against statewide benchmarks, or through rankings. These tools help identify trends, peers, and relevant patterns.<br /><br />FIT is designed to make common analyses accessible, but its interface is not fully customizable and cannot incorporate outside data. The recommended approach is to begin with a clear question, use FIT to locate and refine the relevant data, then export it for further analysis.<br /><br />Users can export either the information shown in any data view—with its filters and settings—or full, unfiltered datasets through Data Extracts. Exports are Excel files and include source references and timestamps. Excel and Power BI can support custom visualizations, forecasts, and combining FIT data with information such as staffing, budgets, inflation, or population.<br /><br />The webinar emphasizes that FIT is a starting point, not the complete story: districts provide essential context, and results depend on the quality of reported data. The State Auditor’s Resource Library, the Financial Health Indicator Guide, in-app help, and direct support are available for additional assistance.

Keywords

Washington Financial Intelligence Tool

FIT

local government finance

school district finance

financial analysis

F-196 reports

monthly enrollment data

financial health indicators

data export

Washington State Auditor's Office