The Department of War has appointed Michael Powers as the new deputy under secretary of war comptroller. Powers previously served as acting comptroller and chief financial officer of the U.S. Army, overseeing the preparation and execution of the service’s $177 billion budget, the Office of the Under Secretary of War said in a LinkedIn post Monday.
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Who Is Michael Powers?
Powers is an experienced financial management executive, a certified public accountant and a certified defense financial manager who holds a DOW Financial Management Certification Level 3.
Aside from his time serving as CFO with the Army, he also held deputy director roles at the Office of the Secretary of War and the Department of the Interior. He also advised the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Health Agency and other organizations, according to his bio on the Office of the Under Secretary of War (Comptroller) website.
How Will the Pentagon Pass Its 2028 Audit?
During a hearing in July, the Senate Armed Services Committee asked Powers how the Pentagon will achieve a clean audit in 2028, Defense One reported.
“I think one of the things we absolutely have to do, and all of this is contingent on confirmation, of course, is get senior leadership very actively involved in the process of setting milestones and holding the departments and defense agencies to those milestones,” he told legislators.
He also promoted the use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to make auditing the department easier, quicker, more efficient and less costly.
The Pentagon failed its annual audit for the eighth year in a row, according to Breaking Defense. A report issued by the DOW identified 26 material weaknesses and two deficiencies in the department’s controls for financial reporting in fiscal 2025.
Jules Hurst, who performed the duties of Pentagon comptroller before Powers’ appointment, wrote in a letter included in the report that the DOW is “committed to resolving its critical issues and achieving an unmodified audit opinion by 2028.”
