Topline: The Department of Defense did not pass its financial audit for the seventh year in a row, violating federal law and admitting that the military has no clue what its $824 billion budget is actually spent on.
Key facts: The DOD did not “fail” its audit in the traditional sense. Independent accountants gave the agency a “disclaimer of opinion,” meaning the military’s financial records are so confusing and incomplete that there is no way to tell whether or not they are accurate.
The DOD has 28 subcomponents, including four branches of the military and departments like the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, that are audited every year. Fifteen of them received disclaimers — down from 19 last year, though three of the audits are still in progress.
A disclaimer is issued when accountants find too many “material weaknesses” in financial statements: issues so severe that they could cause dollar figures to be inaccurate.
