This is How Badly the Pentagon Failed its First Audit

The Pentagon failed what’s being called its first-ever comprehensive audit on Thursday after U.S. Defense Department accounting discrepancies were unearthed.

The red flags found during the audit could take “years” to resolve, Reuters reported. But the findings are not surprising to anyone at the government agency.

“We failed the audit, but we never expected to pass it,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told reporters, adding that the findings showed the need for greater discipline in financial matters within the Pentagon.

“It was an audit on a $2.7 trillion dollar organization, so the fact that we did the audit is substantial,” he added.

The Pentagon’s budget for the 2018 fiscal year was $700 billion for its expenditures that include running multiple branches of the military, troops both come and abroad and various bases across the world, expensive weapons systems and personnel needs.

Officials at the storied agency listed cybersecurity policies and inventory accuracy as areas that need attention when it comes to the Pentagon’s budget.