External auditor issues unmodified opinion on Phenix City FY2023 financials; notes recurring reporting deficiencies

An external auditor told the Phenix City Council that the city's fiscal year 2023 financial statements received an unmodified ("plain") audit opinion and showed positive operating and fund balances, while the auditor also reported recurring deficiencies in the city's financial reporting process.

The auditor said, "a plain audit opinion on the financial statements saying that they are presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles." The report covered government-wide statements, fund-level statements and a single-audit of federal awards.

Why this matters: a clean audit opinion signals that the city's audited financial statements are materially correct under accounting rules, a factor used by rating agencies and lenders. At the same time, the auditor identified internal-control weaknesses that could affect timely reporting and require corrective action.

The audit presentation highlighted several headline figures for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023. On the government-wide statement of net position, the auditor reported total assets of about $171.8 million and total…