An official website of the United States Government 
Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov

.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

DoD Owes Taxpayers Full Accounting of Assets, Comptroller Tells House

You have accessed part of a historical collection on defense.gov. Some of the information contained within may be outdated and links may not function. Please contact the DOD Webmaster with any questions.

A departmentwide audit is important for business reform, for Congress and for the taxpayer, the Defense Department’s comptroller told the House Armed Services Committee today.

A man sits behind a desk and speaks into a microphone.
Defense Under Secretary (Comptroller) David L. Norquist provides testimony on the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Defense Department to members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., June 13, 2017. DoD photo by Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith
A man sits behind a desk and speaks into a microphone.
Budget Hearing
Defense Under Secretary (Comptroller) David L. Norquist provides testimony on the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Defense Department to members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., June 13, 2017. DoD photo by Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith
Photo By: Sgt. Amber Smith
VIRIN: 170613-D-SV709-0288G

The process has started for the first departmentwide audit in DoD history, David L. Norquist said. Defense is the largest department in the executive branch and has assets around the world.

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan are fully behind this effort, Norquist told the committee.

While the department has auditors looking at various contracts or processes, “this is the first time the department will undergo a full financial statement audit,” he said. “A financial statement audit is comprehensive and occurs annually and it covers more than financial management.”

Audit’s Purpose

This audit will verify the count, location and condition of military equipment and real property. “It tests the vulnerability of our security systems and it validates the accuracy of personnel records and actions,” Norquist said.

The department will have 1,200 financial statement auditors assessing the books and records to develop a true account of the state of the department, the comptroller said. It will take time to pass all the process and system changes necessary to pass the audit and get a so-called “clean opinion,” he said. He noted that it took the Department of Homeland Security -- a much smaller and newer agency -- 10 years to get a clean audit.

“But we don’t have to wait to see the benefits of a clean opinion,” Norquist said. “The financial statement audit helps drive enterprise improvements to standardize our business practices and improve the quality of our data.”

00:36
Play
VIDEO | 00:36 | Comptroller: Audit Part of Mattis’ Vision for DoD Reform

The audit will provide information and accountability to the American people. “The taxpayers deserve the same level of confidence as a shareholder that DoD’s financial statement presents a true and accurate picture of its financial condition and operations,” he said. “Transparency, accountability and business process reform are some of the benefits of a financial statement audit.”

An audit will improve accountability, the comptroller said, noting that, for example, an initial Army audit found that 39 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were not properly recorded in the property system. “The Air Force identified 478 structures and buildings at 12 installations that were not in its real property system,” he added.

The audit should cost about $367 million in 2018, Norquist said, which is about the same percentage of the overall budget that large firms like Proctor and Gamble or IBM spend on their audits. “We also anticipate spending about $551 million in 2018 fixing problems identified by the auditors,” he said.

Finding better ways to do business will allow DoD to invest in greater lethality for the force, the comptroller said.

Related Stories