Defense Primer: FY2018 Department of Defense Audit Results (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 9, 2019 |
| Report Number |
IF10913 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Moshe Schwartz; Raj Gnanarajah |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act, P.L.
101-576) requires annual audits of financial statements for
federal agencies. Under the CFO Act, audits of federal
agencies are the responsibility of the agency’s inspector
general (IG), but the IG may contract with one or more
external auditors to perform the audit.
While a number of Department of Defense (DOD)
components already undergo annual audits (e.g., the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Defense Contract Audit Agency,
and National Reconnaissance Office), DOD is undergoing
its first-ever agency-wide financial audit in FY2018.
Generally, the process and standards used to audit DOD are
the same as those used to audit other federal agencies.
Understanding why and how the DOD audit is conducted
can help Congress evaluate the results and usefulness of the
audit.
DOD has contracted with external accounting firms to
conduct its FY2018 audit. Different components within
DOD are currently being audited by different firms.
DOD expects to spend more than $340 million to conduct
the FY2018 audit and to release the results in November
2018. It is to submit a full report to Congress by March 31,
2019. Thereafter, final audit reports are to be issued
annually in November, covering the prior fiscal year.
