The Marine Corps this week became the first military branch ever to pass a complete financial audit, a Defense Department official confirmed Friday, having successfully accounted for more than $46.3 billion in assets and marking the end of a two-year effort.
Independent accountants contracted by the Defense Department issued an “unmodified opinion” on the Marine Corps’ fiscal 2023 financial statement, meaning the information given was as correct as can be proved, the service said.
In 2017, the Marine Corps became the first military service within the Defense Department to undergo a full financial audit, which at the time meant sifting through more than 4,300 sample items and 30,000 documents. Verifying similar items in a 2012 limited audit included a trip to Afghanistan. Ultimately, the service failed to pass either previous attempt.
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In 2023, it meant going to more than 70 sites worldwide to look at thousands of real property assets; more than a million other operating assets, such as vehicle spare parts and weapons and communications systems; and more than 24 million rounds of ammunition — sometimes within Army and Navy stockpiles where the Marine Corps had property stored.
“We had to have documentation for that asset, in addition to the auditors having to view those assets and count those assets,” Gregory Koval, the assistant deputy…
