ANNUAL AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMPONENTS BY INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL AUDITORS.

SEC. 1005. ANNUAL AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMPONENTS BY INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL AUDITORS.(a) Audits Required.—For purposes of satisfying the requirement under section 3521(e) of title 31, United States Code, for audits of financial statements of Department of Defense components identified by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under section 3515(c) of such title, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense shall obtain each year audits of the financial statements of each such component by an independent external auditor.(b) Selection of Auditors.—The selection of independent external auditors for purposes of subsection (a) shall be based, among other appropriate criteria, on their qualifications, independence, and capacity to conduct audits described in subsection (a) in accordance with applicable generally accepted government auditing standards. The Inspector General shall participate in the selection of the independent external auditors.(c) Monitoring Audits.—The Inspector General shall monitor the conduct of all audits by independent external auditors under subsection (a).(d) Reports on Audits.—129 STAT. 962(1) In general.—The Inspector General shall require the independent external auditors conducting audits under subsection (a) to submit a report on their audits each year to—(A) the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) as the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Defense for the purposes of chapter 9 of title 31, United States Code;(B) the Controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management in the Office of Management and Budget; and(C) the appropriate committees of Congress.(2) Appropriate committees of congress defined.—In this subsection, the term “appropriate committees of Congress” means—(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.(e) Relationship to Existing Law.—The requirements of this section—(1) shall be implemented in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of section 1008 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107–107; 10 U.S.C. 113 note);(2) shall not be construed to alter the requirement under section 3521(e) of title 31, United States Code, that the financial statements of the Department of Defense as a whole be audited by the Inspector General or by an independent external auditor, as determined by the Inspector General; and(3) shall not be construed to limit or alter the authorities of the Comptroller General of the United States under section 3521(g) of title 31, United States Code.