From Football get audit by EY, until Pentagon get audit (& troll) by “Master of Satirical’ Jon Stewart: Why Audit Matters

When I read the news that (awkward moment when) the Pentagon finds $3bn after overestimating aid for Ukraine, I just remembered 2 moments weeks ago, about (why) audit matters related or linkage with how money from taxpayers was used. 2 Moments: in GBK Jakarta and in the Pentagon. As the Biden administration faces increasing pressure from Congress on how it can keep sending more weapons to Ukraine without asking for a higher budget (debt ceiling stuck-maybe 14th Amendment), it discovers a $3billion "accounting issue" that enables it to do so. But I will try to highlight the situation in Jakarta, Indonesia.

First, just 8 days ago, before the Indonesia team got the gold medal – 1st ever again in the last 32 years ago, in the SEA Games (Cambodia). The initial process of PSSI's (Football Association of Indonesia) financial audit has been running. Several preliminary findings were presented to the public. Like most countries on earth (maybe except India and Pakistan, with Cricket), football is the most popular sport in Indonesia, and sometimes, the government budget (paid by taxpayers) for football is 1000-2000 times bigger than other “major” sports - “olympic sport” like Basket, Volley, Tennis, Boxing, Swimming, or Athletic. 

PSSI Executive Committee member and also Minister Aide for Erick Thohir (Aide for SOE’s Minister / BUMN Minister) Arya Sinulingga said PSSI's financial bookkeeping was not recorded, namely from 2017 to 2019. This was revealed by Arya when delivering an update to the PSSI financial audit process, Tuesday, May 9.

"The initial audit process is underway based on the MoU assessment between PSSI and E&Y. The initial information we can provide, from the internal PSSI review, there are three periods to be audited. The 2017-2019 period, then 2019-2023, and the period in the management of Mr. Erick Thohir which has only been running for three months," Arya said.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi, currently in Hiroshima Japan for the 49th G7 Summit as 2-years consecutive special guest since the 48th G7 Summit in Bavaria Germany) has said he expects State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir, who has been selected as chairperson of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), to reform the association completely.

“We (the government) hope that the new chairperson can carry out a total reformation (of PSSI). This is our hope so that our soccer (activities) can revive,” he told

In accordance with the memorandum of understanding between PSSI and Ernst & Young, in this first stage the two parties agreed to examine the plan to carry out a forensic audit or the best investigation of PSSI's financial records.

From there, the auditor firm immediately asked PSSI for a number of data covering legal entities, organizational structures, financial reports from 2017 to 2023, financial transactions, accounting systems used, allocation of use of sources of funds from FIFA and AFC, as well as cooperative relations with PT Liga Indonesia Baru (PT LIB) as the operators of Liga 1 and Liga 2.

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From the internal review process, it was found that in the 2017 to 2019 period, PSSI's financial statements were not recorded at all. Thus, PSSI must use information technology services to obtain these data from the financial part of the e-mail during that period.

"There is some physical data, but it is not clear. For example there is a check release, but there are no details," said Arya.

Arya then explained, in the period 2019 to 2023 PSSI's financial statements had begun to be organized and there were improvements in transaction matters and disbursement procedures. However, the accounting model used is still manual and does not use any accounting system.

The new PSSI management under the leadership of General Chair Erick Thohir, said Arya was committed to improving the organizational financial record pattern. The correct financial system from Ernst & Young's input will also be used by PSSI.

"Pak Erick wants a change. In 2023 in Pak Erick's new management period, we will use a correct and valid accounting system according to the input from the audit firm E&Y. We want PSSI's financial statements to be neatly recorded," he concluded.

Two, in the Pentagon, about “OVERESTIMATING AID” US$3 billion when a lot of US taxpayers (suffers) can't pay proper food staple or can’t afford to pay (rent of) apartment. 

Weeks ago, Entertainer Jon Stewart (Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz) ripped military spending as out-of-control and unfocused during a wide-ranging interview with the Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on Thursday (April 6th), saying that more needs to be done to get money to troops and families instead of defense contractors.

To compare “gargantuan aid” by U.S. taxpayers but “overestimating”, despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, most NATO countries refuse to spend 2% GDP on defense. “In absolute terms, Germany will fall short of the 2% target by EUR 17 billion this year. That’s the largest shortfall of all countries.” 

The $48 billion Ukraine aid package approved in December has about $6 billion left, meaning U.S. funding for weapons and supplies could dry up by midsummer. Now lawmakers are wondering: What's the plan? So, overestimating US$3 billion is to show how “beginner” accounting at the Pentagon–when every year gets 800 billion, maybe in 2025 or 2026 will get US$1 trillion, dont care U.. facing debt ceiling (also) every year.

Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh confirms that the Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by around $3 billion… and still counting. That could mean “more” money for weapons being sent to Kyiv.

The error was the result of assigning a higher than warranted value on old weaponry that was taken from U.S. stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, Singh said. The adjusted numbers come just as a result of examining that last tranche of weapons for Ukraine and may change upon review of previous shipments.

Singh said the Pentagon used replacement cost to value the weapons provided to Ukraine, instead of the weaponry's value when it was purchased and depreciated.

The confirmation comes just one day after the White House said it is not currently planning to ask Congress for new Ukraine funding before the end of the fiscal year at the end of September.

“We got out of 20 years of war and the Pentagon got a raise,” Stewart said during remarks at the War Horse Symposium in Chicago on Thursday. “I can’t figure out how $850 billion to a department means that the rank and file still have to be on food stamps. To me, that’s fucking corruption.”

The interview with Hicks, the second-highest official at the department, was the capstone of a day-long discussion on military and veterans issues with activists and government officials.

 Stewart has been active in a host of military advocacy projects in recent years, most notably the effort to pass new benefits for veterans suffering from military toxic exposure injuries. Thursday’s comments were among his most critical of the military, aimed at finding a better balance between federal spending on veterans and military family support and national defense.

Hicks responded by conceding past shortcomings in spending priorities but insisting that the current administration has focused more on correcting those issues.

“We definitely think we need to increase the spending that we are putting forward toward our service members and their families,” she said. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is in areas like child care … We do think we’re getting better on that.”

She noted that about one-fourth of all military spending goes directly to personnel support, all of which stands separate from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs budget.

But Stewart questioned whether any of those efforts to prioritize people are being institutionalized within the Defense Department or the current administration.

“Congress gave [the military] billions of dollars to go to war, every year, for a lot of years, and then the veterans have to fight for money on the back end,” he said.

Hicks said those kinds of funding issues are the responsibility of Congress, not the Pentagon. But she also acknowledged those issues play into recruiting and retention challenges for defense officials.

“Part of what we’re recruiting individuals into is a lifetime of a social contract, and VA is at the other end of that,” she said. “So we work really closely with them, and they they’re doing incredible work to advance … the quality of care for our veterans.”

The White House has requested $842 billion in military spending as part of its federal budget for fiscal 2024, and another $325 billion for Department of Veterans Affairs spending. Both are the largest totals in U.S. history.