External auditors give South Fulton an unmodified opinion but flag five material weaknesses and long filing delays

Marlon & Jenkins LLC presented the City of South Fulton's FY2023 audited financial statements and issued an unmodified (clean) opinion, but the audit report identified five material weaknesses in accounting processes and noted the city's financial reports have been issued late for several years.

The auditor, engagement partner Doug Moses of Marlon & Jenkins LLC, told the council the firm ''did issue an unmodified opinion is what you hope to get from the external and independent audit.'' The report nonetheless lists repeated weaknesses: untimely bank reconciliations, errors in revenue recognition and grant reporting, understated accounts payable and accruals, unrecorded receivables and allowances in the newly created sanitation enterprise fund, and a restatement to correct a previously recorded receivable in a capital grant fund.

Why this matters: The nut graf -- the audit shows the city's financial position has improved (auditors reported a large, liquid fund balance as of Sept. 30, 2023) but also documents systemic control failures that prompted material adjustments and require process changes to avoid recurrence.

Key findings and figures: Moses said the city's general fund balance rose to roughly…