The Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive audit on Friday, with the agency unable to fully account for its enormous spending. A budget of 824 billion dollars, even though officials were confident that the Defense Department had “turned a corner” in understanding its upcoming budgetary challenges.

The audits resulted in a disclaimer of opinion, meaning the auditors were not provided with enough information to form an accurate opinion on the accounts.

From the Ministry of Defense (DoD) 28 reporting entities underwent self-audits, 9 received an unmodified audit opinion, 1 received a qualified opinion, 15 received warnings and 3 opinions remain pending, the report said. Pentagon.

But with the goal of achieving a flawless audit by 2028, Michael McCord, deputy secretary of defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer, said the agency “has reached a milestone in its understanding of the depth and the scale of its challenges.

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The agency’s goal of obtaining an unmodified 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 on our side, and across the Department there is a strong commitment – ​​and confidence in our ability – to obtain an unmodified audit opinion,” he said. said in a statement.

Michael McCord, Pentagon comptroller, said that while much work remains to be done, he believes the Pentagon can complete an unmodified audit by 2028. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images, file)

The objective of obtaining an unmodified audit opinion is mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act.

McCord told reporters at a press briefing Friday that he wouldn’t say the agency “failed” because it had “half-clear opinions.”

“So if someone had a report card that was half good and half bad, I don’t know if you would call the student or their report card a failure,” he said.

On Friday, the Pentagon failed to perform flawless audits for the seventh year in a row. (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images, File)

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Independent public accountants and the DoD Office of Inspector General closely examined the financial statements for the audit.

McCord emphasized in a statement that the path to a clean audit is clear.

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“Much work remains to be done and challenges remain, but our annual audit continues to be a catalyst for department-wide financial management reform, resulting in greater financial integrity, more great transparency and better support for fighters,” he said.