Headline Roundup • November 19th, 2024
Pentagon Fails Seventh Consecutive Annual Audit
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive annual audit on Friday, unable to fully account for its $824 billion budget.
The Details: In 2024’s annual installment of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Pentagon said it aims for a clean audit by 2028. The audits led to a “disclaimer of opinion,” which means the auditors did not receive sufficient information to form an accurate opinion of the accounts. Out of 28 entities audited, nine received unmodified opinions, one received a qualified opinion, 15 received disclaimers, and three are pending results.
Key Quotes: Michael McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer, said the agency “has turned a corner in its understanding of the depth and breadth of its challenges.” He added, “Significant work remains and challenges lie ahead, but our annual audit continues to be a catalyst for Department-wide financial management reform, resulting in greater financial integrity, transparency, and better-supported warfighters.”
How the Media Covered It: The story was not the most widely covered by mainstream outlets, but several big outlets like Fox News (Right bias), The Hill (Center bias), and Bloomberg (Lean Left) covered it. Truthout (Lean Left bias) highlighted that Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders proposed an NDAA amendment last year that would have required the Pentagon to pay a penalty to the Treasury for failing audits, but “lawmakers from both parties have declined to consider” it.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Tom Brenner/Bloomberg
The US Defense Department failed for the seventh straight year to score a clean financial audit, highlighting the challenge of tracking the finances of a sprawling organization that has some $3.8 trillion in assets and $4 trillion in liabilities.
Auditors overseen by the Pentagon Inspector General once again declared the department’s finances were too messy to offer an opinion on whether its books were in order. But the Pentagon said it at least has a better grasp of the problem.
The Pentagon has failed its annual financial audit for the seventh year in a row. This means the Department of Defense (DOD) has failed every single audit it has been subjected to, but officials hope to have things under control by the time audit No. 11 rolls around.
The DOD announced the results on Friday. "Each year teams of independent public accountants audit the department's $4.1 trillion in assets and $4.3 trillion in liabilities," which are then audited by the DOD Office of the Inspector General, Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord told reporters. "In...
The Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive audit on Friday as the agency was unable to fully account for its massive $824 billion budget, though officials were confident the Department of Defense "has turned a corner" in understanding its budgetary challenges going forward.
The audits resulted in a disclaimer of opinion, which means auditors were provided with insufficient information to form an accurate opinion of the accounts.
Of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) 28 reporting entities that had standalone audits, 9 received an unmodified audit opinion, 1 received a qualified opinion, 15 received disclaimers, and...
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