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TLDR:
- The U.S. Marine Corps passed a full financial audit for the first time.
- The audit involved vetting all assets and proving their existence and location.
The U.S. Marine Corps achieved a significant milestone by passing a full financial audit for the first time in its history. The audit, which took two years to complete, involved independent third-party auditors from Ernst and Young vetting the value of all assets listed on the Corps’ financial statements. This included inspecting over 7,800 real property assets, 5,900 pieces of military equipment, and millions of ammunition items. The audit required the Corps to provide documentation or photos to explain any discrepancies, such as missing items due to operational activities.
Although the audit was successful, the Marine Corps still has areas to improve, such as automating processes to reduce human error in data sharing. The completion of this audit is seen as a significant achievement that will make future audits more manageable, as they will only need to cover financial transactions from the current fiscal year. The Corps hopes to share lessons learned with the rest of the Department of Defense to accelerate their auditing processes.
Despite the Marine Corps’ success, the Pentagon has faced challenges in passing audits since 2018. The Marines’ achievement has been commended by Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord, who sees it as a test case for the Department of Defense and other military services. Overall, the Marine Corps’ successful financial audit marks a significant step towards improving financial transparency and accountability within the U.S. military.
