For the ninth consecutive year, the City of Sugar Hill has received an ‘Unqualified’ financial audit determination.
While this designation may sound counterintuitive, it is indeed a very good thing.
An ‘Unqualified’ audit status is a reflection of transparency and compliance in financial statements — and is awarded after a thorough vetting of all required and submitted materials.
In turn, a ‘Qualified’ audit would signify glaring omissions and a lack of general transparency in a city’s financial records for the previous year.
On Dec. 28, Sugar Hill Mayor Brandon Hembree called a meeting to approve the FY2022 audit for the city. Walker, Pierce & Tuck, CPA performed the audit.
Mayor Hembree explained, “The audit is legally required to be done annually. Cities that are not compliant with the law are not eligible for State of Georgia LMIG grants for road paving or any other state funding assistance.”
In a unanimous decision, the city council voted to accept the audit and approved it for submission to the Georgia Department of Audits to undergo review.
Mayor Hembree expounded, “As mayor and council, we take our fiduciary responsibility seriously and this is reflected in the city’s ongoing commitment to delivering a wide variety of essential and quality-of-life services and programming to our 28,000 Sugar Hill residents.”
City Manager of Sugar Hill, Paul Radford commented, “I am proud of the phenomenal job our managers and staff do to manage the resources entrusted to them. We have in place strong financial policies that ensure all funds expended are well-documented, with checks and balances to ensure a clear and unencumbered audit trail.”
City Council Member, Taylor Anderson added, “While the city has received similar commendable audit reports for nine consecutive years, we continue to strive for transparency with annual audits. The introduction of ClearGov, a proprietary financial transparency platform which we plan to launch in FY2024, will give residents the ability to interactively view public funds, its distribution, and ultimate use. As a council member, I am excited for this next chapter of fiscal excellence.”
Anyone who is interested in reviewing the audit reports firsthand can find them on the city’s website.
