Fayette County government officials have received a “clean audit” for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

The audit findings were presented to the Fayette County Commission Thursday night. Patricia Pryor of the Cherry, Bekaert and Holland accounting firm told the commission the audit found no material misstatements, no material weakness or any other problems.

Also at Thursday’s meeting the county was presented with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. This is the 16th year in a row that the county has won the award.

Finance Director Mary Holland said qualifying for the award requires the county’s financial reports to be reviewed by a team of professionals along with a questionnaire submitted by the county.

The commission Thursday also surprised Assistant Finance Director Toni Jo Howard with a special recognition for earning her Master of Professional Accounting degree from the University of West Georgia in December. Commission Chairman Jack Smith thanked Howard for her hard work toward achieving the degree and for helping keep the county’s finances in line.