Mattis tells Pentagon to 'invite scrutiny' of first-ever financial audit

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has directed all Pentagon employees to support the first full-scale financial audit, though it may take years to achieve a "clean" opinion, according to a recent department-wide memo.

"Professionals invite scrutiny," Mattis wrote in a May 25 memo. "Every decision we make must focus on both lethality and affordability, thereby gaining full value from each taxpayer dollar spent on defense."

Mattis said the audit is especially important in light of a March omnibus spending bill that granted the Defense Department $700 billion in fiscal year 2018. He urged department employees at every level to take "immediate corrective action" when discrepancies are discovered.

The plan to audit the Pentagon is not without controversy, as former DOD officials have opposed the effort because it is expected to cost approximately $5 billion over five years.

Meanwhile, Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist told the Senate Budget Committee in March it could take as many as 10 years for DOD to get a clean opinion.

The audit has bipartisan support in Congress, however, and senior lawmakers say they are aware the Pentagon's initial report could contain troubling news.

"It will be ugly, I promise you," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said in May. "I have no doubt there will be more problems than any of us can fathom. But it's very important for us not to punish the Pentagon for identifying the problems. We need to hold them accountable for having a plan to solve problems."

In the new memo, Mattis wrote that DOD will provide Congress with periodic updates and publish the results of the first annual audit in November.

"While a clean audit may take years to achieve, your efforts and your leadership foster transparency, accountability, and business process reform, enabling us to meet our fundamental obligation to turn over this department better than we found it," he wrote.