The Pentagon cannot account for nearly sixty percent of its budget, according to the latest audit of the United States Department of Defense.
The data of the inspection was made public a month ago. Despite the fact that the Pentagon cannot account for trillions of dollars, according to the organization's auditor general, they can learn a lot from the audit. More specifically, the military aid provided to Ukraine provides the Ministry of Defense with an opportunity to understand why it is important to account for all expenditures, writes the US security policy and military technology portal Task & Purpose
This year is the fifth year in a row that the Pentagon has failed to meet its budget. The organization's revenue is $3.5 trillion and its expenses and liabilities are approximately $3.7 trillion.
Auditors looked at 27 different military organizations under the Pentagon's authority and found that most had trouble keeping a full account. Mike McCord, the Pentagon's comptroller, did not say that the Pentagon had "failed the investigation" despite the overall negative result.
It is important to go through this process because it makes us better. We're just not improving as fast as we'd like
- he told reporters in November . The results of the investigation show the same as last year, problems and deviations in the budget arose in more than half of the cases (61 percent). Although the Pentagon did not expect to pass the test, they expect to make progress every year, in smaller steps.
The mandatory investigation was launched in 2017 in order to find out how the Ministry of Defense accounts for its income, expenses and assets. This year's report was prepared by 1,600 external auditors. However, Russia's war in Ukraine drew attention to the importance of the Pentagon being able to account for its revenues.
The United States has sent billions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment to Ukraine and has realized that it is time to take stock of its spending. "The war in Ukraine is very instructive for us," said Mike McCord.
We did not find ourselves in a situation where we only have a few days worth of critical munitions. But we support a country that does, and they often turn to us saying that they barely have any means left. For us, this is a great example of why it is important to keep track of stocks and know how much of what you have when
McCord explained.
Featured image: AFP/Staff
