Determining relevant financial statement ratios in Department of Defense service component general fund financial statements

Abstract

Department of Defense (DOD) service components are dedicating significant financial and human resources toward achieving unqualified opinions on audits of their financial statements. The DOD has endeavored to produce auditable financial statements as mandated in the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990. In December of 2013, the United States Marine Corps became the first service component to achieve an unqualified audit opinion on its Schedule of Budgetary Activities. As military components achieve unqualified audit opinions, what data from these financial statements are relevant to leaders, and can this information be presented in a more effective manner? The purpose of this research is to explore the usability and benefit of modified financial statement ratios as applied to DOD service component general fund financial statements. First, a comparison approach is used to determine similarities and differences between corporate financial statements and DOD service component general fund financial statements, including interrelationships of financial data. Second, a ratio approach is used to determine which modified corporate financial statement ratios are relevant to users of DOD service component general fund financial statements. Third, an empirical approach is used to apply modified financial statement ratios to Department of the Navy and U.S. Air Force financial data. This research provides recommendations pertaining to the utility and applicability of modified financial statement ratios to DOD service component general fund financial statements.