NATCHEZ — The city’s auditor reported a clean audit to the Natchez Board of Aldermen this afternoon, but that news was overshadowed by the “material weakness” the auditor found in the audit.

Deanne Tanksley with the Gillon Group said she encountered significant obstacles in getting financial information from the city clerk’s office to conduct the audit for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

“We are repeating the finding for internal controls over financial reporting as far as trying to pull the information (for the audit),” Tanksley said.

Tanksley advised the board that the city needs to find a strong accountant in the city clerk’s office who will be hands-on with operations.

For the full story on the city’s audit, see Friday’s edition of The Natchez Democrat.