Revenue Auditor 4 (Multiple Positions)

Revenue Auditor 4 Positions

Attention Revenue! The Department of Revenue's Audit Division has a fantastic internal opportunity for up to six (6) Revenue Auditor 4 (RA4) positions. As a RA4, you will serve as the technical expert performing complex audits specific to one of the following areas of interest/industries:

• Aerospace
• Emerging Issues & Large Case Management
• Refund & Deferrals
• Banking & Financial Institutions
• Medical & Insurance
• Digital Products (Non-permanent expected to last for 12-18 months)

These opportunities are open for current Washington State Department of Revenue employees only. The location of the Revenue Auditor 4 positions will be determined based upon the current location of the successful candidate(s). The Revenue Auditor 4 - Digital Products position is Non-permanent appointment, expected to last between 12 and 18 months.

Candidate screening may begin as early as July 8, 2026, and the hiring authority reserves the right to make a hiring decision at any time after. It will be to the applicants' advantage to submit materials as soon as possible.

Duties

Although your major duties include determining regulatory compliance through examination of business activities and accounting systems, you may lead and support a team through the overall audit process. Some additional duties:

• Prepare audit reports and provide findings to customers.
• Monitor for any changes in tax laws and rules, administrative rulings, and recent court decisions.
• Develop industry specific education and/or training to improve consistency and encourage state tax law compliance.
• Investigate for fraudulent and evasive practices.

Role-Specific Focus Areas (based on selected industry):

• Aerospace: Performs complex audits within Washington's aerospace industry, focusing on specialized tax laws, manufacturing activities, and multi-entity business structures. Ensures accurate reporting through detailed analysis of industry-specific records.
• Emerging Issues & Large Case Management: Handles high-impact, precedent-setting audit work involving complex or evolving business models and large, multi-jurisdictional taxpayers. Provides expert-level analysis on issues with potential broad policy implications.
• Refund & Deferrals: Leads technically complex audits involving refund claims and deferral programs, ensuring proper application of statute, documentation, and audit methodology. Identifies risks, reconciles data, and provides clear, defensible recommendations. This Revenue Auditor 4 position serves as the backup to the Field Audit Manager.
• Banking & Financial Institutions: Conducts specialized audits of financial institutions, analyzing sophisticated accounting practices, transaction flows, and regulatory structures unique to the finance sector. Ensures compliance with applicable Washington tax laws.
• Medical & Insurance: Performs audits within the medical, healthcare, and insurance sectors, evaluating complex billing, service delivery, and industry-specific accounting environments. Ensures accurate application of tax policies across varied operational models.
• Digital Products (Non-Permanent): Focuses on auditing digital goods and services, ecommerce platforms, and technology-driven business models. Applies specialized analysis to emerging digital revenue streams during this limited-duration assignment.

It is essential that successful candidates have exceptional communication skills, an ability to work with a diverse group of customers as well as a willingness to work collaboratively with peers and management at all levels.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess a combination of the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and progressive experience that demonstrates readiness to successfully perform the duties and tasks of this position:

Progressive experience leading highly complex, large-scale audits shown through:

• Leading large, multi-entity, multi-jurisdictional or multinational audits involving complex financial structures, emerging business models, serving as auditor-in-charge and establishing engagement scope, milestones, and documentation standards with minimal oversight.
• Managing a portfolio of audits; coordinating with taxpayer representatives, monitoring progress, and adapting plans in a dynamic environment to ensure timely and accurate results.
• Exercising independent judgment on precedent-setting or sensitive issues; identifying policy implications, resolving ambiguities and determining when interpretation or escalation is required.
• Results: Delivering authoritative, defensible conclusions in environments requiring expert-level analysis and collaboration with interested parties.

Demonstrated expert knowledge of accounting principles, systems and analytical tools to include:

• Applying Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to evaluate complex accounting environments, multi-company considerations, intercompany transactions, and specialized revenue/expense recognition methods.
• Evaluating and validating customized, or high-volume ERP/POS/ecommerce systems, tracing data flows, identifying systems-based integrity risks and designing appropriate audit responses.
• Using advanced Excel analytics tools (complex formulas/functions, pivot tables, joins/lookups, data validation), or custom queries to evaluate large or complex datasets; designing and executing advanced sampling plans requiring expert judgment and defensible methodology.
• Designing and executing statistical and nonstatistical sampling; collaborating with taxpayer IS staff and audit specialists to support defensible conclusions.

Proven ability to research and apply tax law demonstrated by:

• Researching, interpreting, and applying Washington statutes (RCW), administrative code (WAC), department policy (e.g., ETAs/Special Notices), and relevant court decisions to determine correct tax liabilities under the Revenue Act.
• Establishing physical and economic nexus by analyzing business activities, documentation, and interviews; documenting rationale clearly in workpapers and reports.
• Identifying issues with broader policy, interpretive, or litigation implications and providing expert-level analysis to support the department's position.

Demonstrated expertise in assessing risk and internal controls, including:

• Evaluating systems, procedures, and internal controls to identify irregularities, control gaps, and areas of exposure that require specialized sampling or advanced audit techniques.
• Reconciling source documents (e.g., bank statements, sales and purchase records, inventory) and synthesizing complex data into clear, accurate audit issues and manageable components for resolution.
• Developing risk-based audit strategies for complex, emerging, or high-impact industries.

Expert-level communication skills (written and verbal) shown through:

• Producing clear, comprehensive, and technically detailed audit reports, including complex analysis, legal interpretations, supporting schedules and future reporting instructions; ensuring accuracy, completeness, and accessibility for diverse audiences.
• Presenting and explaining highly technical or sensitive findings to taxpayers and representatives; adjusting tone, structure and detail to build understanding and agreement in complex or contentious situations.
• Preparing precise written guidance, review responses and expert analysis used in supervisor conferences and/or petitions for review.
• Recognizing when language requires adjustment to achieve understanding and demonstrating tact and skill in reframing or modifying the communication approach.

Demonstrated expertise in planning, organization, and managing complex audit work, including:

• Coordinating and leading large audits, setting priorities, managing logistics and adapting approaches to meet quality and timeline expectations independently.
• Performing complex work while maintaining accuracy, confidentiality and adherence to safety and professional standards across varied taxpayer locations.
• Anticipating constraints, monitoring progress and adjusting strategies to maintain momentum and deliver results.

Progressive experience providing mentoring and technical leadership shown through:

• Offering coaching, review, and mentoring to auditors; delivering actionable, expert-level feedback on workpapers, accounting systems, sampling, and methodology.
• Working cooperatively with others and contributing to group solutions through constructive feedback, ideas, and suggestions. Facilitating the open exchange of ideas and information in a respectful and inclusive way.
• Serving as a technical resource on complex law and rule applications, supporting team audits and supporting Field Audit Managers in supervisor conferences.
• Supporting management by identifying training needs, emerging risks, or necessary improvements; developing and delivering training to staff.

Demonstrated expert skill in interviews, tax discovery, and investigative analysis, shown by:

• Planning, conducting, and documenting interviews that uncover critical facts, verify systems and processes, and establish reliable findings in complex or contentious audits.
• Evaluating the credibility, sufficiency, and risk implications of information