The Pentagon has failed its annual audit for the eighth consecutive year, continuing its streak as the only federal agency to never pass an audit even as Congress grants it a record high budget of over $1 trillion for 2026.
The Department of Defense identified issues with tracking funds for programs like its F-35 fighter jet program, the Pentagon’s most expensive project with a cost of over $2 trillion over the past few decades. The authors of the department’s annual financial report, released Friday, identified 26 material weaknesses within the department’s internal controls — referring to severe issues among the agency’s accounting that could lead to major misstatements in financial reports.
The report said that the department is committed to its goal of passing an audit — which is legally mandated for federal agencies — by 2028.
There are myriad reasons for the Pentagon’s inability to pass an audit. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office found in a report that one reason is that the agency faces “significant fraud exposure” from military contractors, who engage in brazen and open price gouging.
The Pentagon has also historically been unable to account for its assets. This year, the Pentagon reported having $4.65 trillion in assets, but trillions of dollars’ worth of this may be in limbo; as of 2022, the Pentagon was unable to keep track of over 60 percent of its assets.