Atlanta posts clean FY24 audit; single audit still in progress, one material weakness noted

Deputy Chief Financial Officer Yolanda Carr and external auditor Doug Moses presented the city’s FY 2024 audit to the Finance and Executive Committee, reporting unmodified (clean) opinions on the city’s basic financial statements, aviation and watershed financial statements and the three pension plans.

Moses, engagement partner for Mauldin & Jenkins, told the committee the firm issued “an unmodified or a clean opinion” on the basic financial statements and clean opinions for aviation, watershed and the three pension plans. Deputy CFO Yolanda Carr said the single audit was still in progress and “we hope to have that done by March.”

Why it matters: Clean audit opinions support continued access to credit markets and signal that financial reporting met professional standards. The city also noted continued improvement in pension reporting and overall net position increases.

Headline financials and funds Carr said citywide revenues rose from about $3.5 billion in FY23 to about $3.6 billion in FY24, with general government revenue rising from roughly $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion and aviation showing growth in concession and parking revenue. Watershed net position increased by $201 million year over year. Fund balance remained within the city policy target of 20–25% of expenditures, though it declined from $246 million in FY23 to $225 million at year-end FY24.

Deficit funds and rates Auditors and finance staff flagged two deficit funds: group insurance and solid waste. Carr said group insurance has carried a deficit for several years “due to the fact that we have not increased our health rate,” and she noted a recent open-enrollment uptick that may help. Solid waste’s position reflected increased personnel and post-closure costs; Council passed an ordinance that will raise solid-waste rates in FY25 and subsequent years and, according to staff, should improve the fund’s outlook.

Audit findings and recommendations Moses said the audit produced one material weakness related to year-end closeout procedures and adjustments to grant and revenue reporting; auditors proposed recommendations to strengthen grant accounting and financial reporting controls. He also noted the city no longer had a material weakness for the pension plans after consecutive remediation efforts and staffing and consultant support.

Council discussion and next steps Council members congratulated staff for meeting reporting deadlines and maintaining strong reporting standards. Finance staff and auditors recommended operational assessments for the grants function and stronger segregation-of-duties controls in sampled disbursements. The single audit work covering federal programs (airport improvement, federal transit formula, and state and local fiscal recovery funds) remains ongoing with an expected March completion.

Ending Chair Howard Shook and committee members praised the finance team and auditors for the “clean audit.” Deputy CFO Carr and external auditors said they would continue to address the year-end procedures and complete the single audit.