A clean audit for $49 billion in financial assets means the Marine Corps is able to track and report transactions across the globe and keep stock of inventory equipment and assets at Marine facilities in the past fiscal year.
It also means the service can better plan, program and budget the spending of congressionally appropriated funds.
The report comes after the Pentagon in November failed to pass its seventh full audit in a row. The Defense Department, which has a more than $824 billion annual budget, said it has made progress in working toward a clean audit by fiscal year 2028 — when Congress mandates it to do so — but has yet to pass across the board.
The federal agency has held an audit ever since 2018, when it became legally obligated to carry them out.
While DOD technically earned a disclaimer of opinion — meaning it failed to provide sufficient information to auditors to form an accurate opinion — Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord said at the time that the agency “has turned a corner in its understanding of the depth and breadth of its challenges.”
“Independent auditors verified that the Marine Corps’ financial records are materially accurate, complete, and compliant with federal regulations and issued an unmodified opinion for Fiscal Year 2024,” Marine Corps officials said in a statement alongside the audit report.
The failed audits have prompted lawmakers to call for increased oversight of the Pentagon.
