DeKalb closes book on financial discrepancy

The DeKalb Audit Oversight Committee pictured on Aug. 11, 2017. From left: Harmel Codi, Gena Major, Monica Miles and Harold Smith. MARK NIESSE / MARK.NIESSE@AJC.COM

The DeKalb Audit Oversight Committee pictured on Aug. 11, 2017. From left: Harmel Codi, Gena Major, Monica Miles and Harold Smith. MARK NIESSE / MARK.NIESSE@AJC.COM

DeKalb County's government has finally reconciled an accounting discrepancy that at one point amounted to $5.5 million.

The county's external auditors said Friday the government completed matching transactions between its bank accounts and internal records in June, after about a year of combing through thousands of old expenses.

No taxpayer money was reported missing, but the DeKalb County 2016 Single Audit Reports again cited the county government for its financial management practices, saying the county should strengthen internal controls to ensure all bank accounts are reconciled monthly.

"The county has gone through a significant process and has caught cash (transactions) up," said Joel Black of Mauldin & Jenkins, the county's auditing firm, during a Friday meeting with the DeKalb Audit Oversight Committee. "The county is continuing to focus on cash reconciliation and speeding it up."

Despite the county’s progress, it took the first half of this year to finish reconciling transactions left over from 2016, he said.

In all, the audit listed five areas of deficiency in its findings, down from eight last year.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” said Harold Smith, a member of the Audit Oversight Committee.