What You Need to Know About the Defense Department's Finances

Truth in Accounting talks about the Defense Department's finances with Mandy Smithberger from the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) and former TIA director of research Bill Bergman; we also discuss the newly released Defense Department Audit Report Card 2021. Moderated by Courtney Bublé. _________________ In December 2020, the Defense Department (DoD) issued its latest annual Agency Financial Report. The financial statements in this report were a part of the third consecutive full-scope, department-wide audit. The COVID pandemic posed some special challenges and issues for the latest audit. The process took longer than in the previous year, but when all was said and done, the DoD received another disclaimer (failing) audit opinion on its financial statements. With this report, Truth in Accounting ranks DoD component entities based on their fiscal year (FY) 2020 audit performance. We issue this ranking to identify relative strengths and weaknesses in financial reporting, to track progress over time, and to identify agency leaders who serve as good examples for the department as a whole Read the full report at: https://www.truthinaccounting.org/news/detail/defense-department-audit-report-card-2021 _________________ Subscribe to Truth in Accounting here: https://bit.ly/2uygGER The official Truth in Accounting YouTube channel is your primary destination for informative and entertaining videos on government finances. For more about Truth in Accounting's work, visit: https://www.truthinaccounting.org Follow Truth in Accounting here: Facebook: https://facebook.com/truthinaccounting Twitter: https://twitter.com/truthinacct Instagram: https://instagram.com/truthinacct LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truth-in-accounting ------------ Mandy Smithberger is the director of the Center for Defense Information in December 2014. Previously she was a national security policy adviser to U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) There, she worked on passing key provisions of the Military Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act into law, which expands protections by increasing the level of Inspector General review for complaints, requiring timely action on findings of reprisal, and increasing the time whistleblowers have to report reprisals. Previously an investigator with POGO, she was part of a team that received the Society of Professional Journalists' Sunshine Award for contributions in the area of open government Bill Bergman serves as Truth in Accounting's Director of Research. He leads question formation, idea development and application of research initiatives. Bill delivers our daily "Morning Call" newsletter every morning to a growing and appreciative audience of influential subscribers. He leads and oversees the development of Truth in Accounting’s databases. Bill also leads our federal projects. Bill has written more than 400 articles at "Bill's Blog." Bill teaches finance courses at Loyola University Chicago. He has more than 30 years of financial market experience, including thirteen years as an economist and policy analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Bill earned an M.B.A. and an M.A. in public policy from the University of Chicago in 1990. Courtney Buble is a staff correspondent who covers federal management. Before joining Government Executive, she worked for NBC News. Courtney graduated from The George Washington University in 2018.