For the seventh consecutive year, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has failed to pass its financial audit. Despite commanding a staggering $824 billion budget for 2024, the Pentagon continues to grapple with widespread disorganization and missing financial records, raising serious concerns about the accountability of taxpayer funds.
The DoD launched its first-ever agency-wide financial audit in 2017, an effort long delayed and much anticipated. However, since that initial attempt, the department has consistently fallen short, failing every audit since 2018. This year’s audit only underscores the ongoing issues within the Pentagon’s financial systems.
Of the 28 entities audited in 2024, only 9 received clean opinions, signifying that their financial statements were accurate and reliable. Meanwhile, 15 entities were issued disclaimers, meaning their financial records were so incomplete or disorganized that auditors couldn’t assess them properly. One entity received a qualified opinion, indicating mostly accurate statements but with some exceptions, while the opinions for three entities remain pending.
In the DoD’s official statement, the department claimed progress despite these failures:
“The Department is firmly committed and is taking actions to achieve an unmodified audit opinion on its financial statements by December 31, 2028, as mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.”
This commitment is part of a broader push to overhaul financial practices within the Pentagon. However, given the recurring failures, many critics are questioning whether the department can meet its 2028 goal.
Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord has pushed back against characterizing the audit as a failure, choosing instead to frame it as part of a long-term improvement process.
“Despite the disclaimer of opinion, which was expected, the Department has turned a corner in its understanding of the depth and breadth of its challenges,” McCord stated.
At a press briefing, McCord emphasized the progress being made:
“I do not say we failed. We have about half clean opinions. We have half that are not clean opinions. If someone had a report card that is half good and half not good, I don’t know that you call the student or the report card a failure.”
McCord expressed optimism that a clean audit could be achieved by 2028, but he acknowledged the significant work still required to meet that target.
The stakes of these failed audits are immense. The Pentagon oversees vast sums of money, much of which funds military operations, weapons systems, and personnel. Yet, the inability to account for all expenditures raises concerns about potential waste, fraud, or abuse.
Critics argue that the lack of transparency in the Pentagon’s financial operations undermines public trust and makes it difficult to assess whether taxpayer money is being spent effectively.
“It’s unacceptable that the DoD, with one of the largest budgets in the federal government, continues to fail its audits year after year,” said one government accountability advocate. “Without proper oversight, billions of dollars are essentially vanishing into a black hole.”
The Pentagon has pointed to some successes. For example, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) received an unmodified audit opinion this year, marking a notable achievement for the entity. Similarly, the U.S. Marine Corps earned a clean opinion for its fiscal year 2023 financial statements, demonstrating that progress is possible.
Still, these isolated victories are overshadowed by the broader failures. Auditors found discrepancies across multiple divisions, from procurement to logistics, highlighting systemic issues that hinder the department’s ability to maintain accurate financial records.
The DoD remains optimistic about achieving a clean audit within four years, but skepticism abounds. The 2028 goal, mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act, is ambitious, especially given the department’s track record.
In the meantime, lawmakers and watchdog groups are likely to increase pressure on the Pentagon to improve its financial accountability. As debates over federal spending and budget deficits intensify, the DoD’s inability to account for billions in taxpayer dollars will remain a focal point of criticism.
For now, the Pentagon’s audit failures serve as a stark reminder of the challenges in managing one of the world’s largest and most complex organizations. Whether the department can turn things around by 2028—or if it will continue its pattern of failure—remains to be seen.
