DoD Financial Fix: A Distant Dream

It looks like the Defense Department's goal of getting a clean audit opinion on its annual financial statement is stretching even further into the future. The department had hoped to hit the target in fiscal 2007, but late last year told lawmakers that's not going to happen. So how far off is the goal? At a luncheon session with Government Executive reporters Friday, Francis E. "Gene" Reardon, deputy inspector general for auditing at the Pentagon, said eight to 10 years from now is more realistic. The problem isn't a lack of commitment to address the issue, he said, but that few people have understood just how deeply rooted DoD's financial problems are. When it comes to cleaning things up, "if you want the whole shebang, I think it's way out there," Reardon said.