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ATLANTA -- A state audit turned up nine problems in how the Department of Agriculture has handled its finances, including lack of written procedures for dealing with cash and using roughly $4 million in fees that should have been turned over to the general state treasury.

Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black requested the review when he became the first new head of the department since 1969. He said it fulfilled a campaign promise.

“I felt like we were committed to that responsible component. I talked about it for 18 months,” he said. “I wanted to make sure my actions matched my words.”

The review by the Department of Audits & Accounts examined the handling of fees that come into the farm-and-consumer-protection agency, including rent paid in cash for stalls at the State Farmer’s Market in Forest Park. The nine “findings” or specific programs identified came with detailed recommendations such as how often to reconcile bank statements.

Black ended the habit of Agriculture food inspectors walking from stall to stall at the market collecting wads of cash, requiring checks instead. He also consolidated the jobs of budget director and chief financial officer.

Black also took the auditors’ advice on changing the handling of renewal fees for the pet shops, food processors, exterminators and other entities regulated by the department. Under former Commissioner Tommy Irvin, renewal applications with checks attached moved from division to division so the information could be verified, only to return to the department’s bookkeeping office when the checks were finally deposited. Now, the checks are deposited first without any other division seeing them.

By year’s end, Black hopes to get renewals and fees online rather than in the mail.

“It’s going to save a lot of paperwork,” he said.

Last year’s elections replaced every elected agency head, but only Black called for auditors to scrutinize the bureaucracy he inherited. Spokespersons for the commissioner of insurance, superintendent of schools and attorney general -- all who succeeded multi-term predecessors -- said they were relying on the yearly reviews of their departments.

“We have not made a request of this nature because this office is audited annually by the Department of Audits. (They are in our offices now doing their FY11 audit.),” said Lauren Kane, spokeswoman for Attorney General Sam Olens who replaced Thurbert Baker who had been in office since 1997. “We have not had a single audit finding of any kind for at least the last 10 years.”