The Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive audit on Friday as the agency can’t fully account for its massive $824 billion budget, although officials hoped the Defense Department had “turned around” in understanding its budget challenges going forward.
The audit resulted in the issuance of an opinion, which means that the auditors are provided with sufficient information to form an accurate opinion on the accounts.
Of the 28 Department of Defense (DoD) reporting organizations that had independent audits, 9 received an unmodified audit opinion, 1 received a favorable opinion, 15 received a disclaimer, and 3 opinions are pending, the Pentagon said.
But with the goal of achieving clean research by 2028, Michael McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Acting) and Chief Financial Officer, said the agency “turned its corner in understanding the depth and breadth of its challenges.”
MILITARY SUICIDES CONTINUED LAST YEAR, DESPITE HUGE INVESTMENTS IN PREVENTION PROGRAMS.
The agency’s goal of obtaining an unchanged audit opinion by the end of 2028 is mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images, File)
“The momentum is with us, and across the Department there is a strong commitment—and belief in our ability—to obtain an unaltered auditor’s opinion,” he said in a statement.
Michael McCord, the head of the Pentagon, said that although much work is still pending, he believes that the Pentagon can achieve consistent research by 2028. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
The purpose of obtaining an unmodified audit opinion is mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act.
McCord told reporters at a press conference Friday that he wouldn’t say the agency “failed” because it had “almost half a clean slate.”
“Therefore, if someone has a half report card and it is not good, I don’t know if you call the student or the report card a failure,” he said.
The Pentagon failed to receive a clean audit for the seventh consecutive year on Friday. (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images, File)
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Independent accountants and the DoD Office of the Inspector General audited the audit’s financial statements.
McCord stressed in a statement that the path to a clean audit is clear.
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“There is much work to be done and challenges ahead, but our annual audit continues to be a catalyst for financial management reform in the Department as a whole, leading to greater financial integrity, transparency, and better support for warfighters,” he said.
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