1958

Data is first entered into the Mechanization of Contract Administration Services system, which is still used to track and pay invoices from weapons contractors.

1985

The U.S. Navy discloses that it was equipping some aircraft with $640 toilet seats purchased from Lockheed.

1990

Congress requires the Defense Department to undergo comprehensive annual audits.

1991

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney creates the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in an attempt to consolidate military bookkeeping systems.

1993

Cheney's financial-reform effort peters out when the Clinton administration replaces political appointees at the Pentagon.

2000

A Pentagon inspector general finds $2.3 trillion in unsupported accounting entries on the Defense Department's books.

2001

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declares that financial reform at the Pentagon is essential to national security.

2002

Congress indefinitely suspends the requirement for annual audits of the Defense Department.

2005

The Pentagon launches a new effort to modernize its financial systems.