The Pentagon just failed its fifth audit in a row

Teacher: Okay Pentagon, let’s see the audit.

Pentagon: My dog ate it.

Teacher: You’ve said that for the last four audits.

Pentagon: Super hungry dog, yea.

According to an independent report published last month, the US Department of Defense could only account for 39% of its $3.5 trillion worth of assets in the 2022 fiscal year – a big fat audit “F.” The Pentagon has now failed five straight audits dating back to 2018, when its first such inspection occurred.

And if you’re wondering how many other government agencies are unable to pass an audit, the answer would be zero. The Government Management Reform Act of 1994 requires mandatory audits for all government agencies – though only since 2013 has each been able to satisfy this requirement… all except the Pentagon, that is.

• Some 1,600 auditors took part in reviewing the DOD’s finances this year, which were broken up into 27 separate, smaller audits.
• Of those, just seven earned a clean bill of financial health. “[B]asically the same picture as last year,” per Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord.

👀 Looking ahead… The DOD hopes to pass its first audit by 2027, per McCord – 14 years after every other US government agency.

That timing could also coincide with another DOD milestone: a $1 trillion US defense budget, which experts predict will arrive sometime between 2027 and 2030 (it's currently $857 billion).

+In the know: The Department of Defense is… fairly large. Its assets this year (that we know of) include nearly 2.9 million military personnel, 19,700 aircraft, 290+ ships, and physical items like buildings, roads, and fences across nearly 5,000 sites worldwide.