by Afshan Ahmed

An audit is a vehicle for understanding how an organization tracks its finances; evaluates its operations; and complies with applicable laws, regulations, and policies. By identifying inefficiencies or areas of noncompliance, audits help improve processes, streamline operations, and ensure optimal resource use.

Auditing within Military Agencies is no different. These reviews help uphold mission readiness and strengthen accountability to the American public. They also reinforce the government’s ability to achieve objectives in a cost-effective and responsible manner, confirming that every dollar is being spent wisely and every process is running smoothly.

Auditing within Military Agencies … helps uphold mission readiness and strengthen accountability to the American public.

A military audit is a massive undertaking. Annual budgets across the services total hundreds of billions of dollars, funding everything from personnel to technology innovations. And because these audits often involve thousands of people across multiple locations, they require years of planning.

A military audit is a massive undertaking, involving thousands of people across multiple locations, over years of planning.

Military audits follow a structured, systematic approach that typically includes:

• Planning: Identifying what needs to be reviewed, such as contracts, budgets, or inventory.
• Data collection: Gathering financial records, operational reports, governing documents, and more.
• Evaluation: Analyzing data for accuracy, compliance, and efficiency.
• Reporting: Highlighting what’s working, detailing what needs improvement, and providing recommendations.
• Implementation and follow-up: Taking action to address findings and recommendations, with auditors later confirming that improvements are effective.

Achieving a “clean audit” (a term meaning no major issues are found) has been a long-standing goal. It’s a challenging milestone given the size and complexity of today’s Military Agencies, but meaningful progress continues. The new Secretary of War recently committed to achieving a clean audit within four years.

Want to learn more? The Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual 2024 Revision (FISCAM 2024), NIST SP 800-53 ("Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations”), and similar guidance are great places to start.