Examinations of the Reserve Bank
The Reserve Banks and the consolidated limited liability company (LLC) entities are subject to several levels of audit and review. The combined financial statements of the Reserve Banks as well as the annual financial statements of each of the 12 Banks and the consolidated LLC entities are audited annually by an independent auditing firm retained by the Board of Governors. In addition, the Reserve Banks, including the consolidated LLC entities, are subject to oversight by the Board of Governors, which performs its own reviews. The Reserve Banks use the Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) to assess their internal controls over financial reporting, including the safeguarding of assets. Within this framework, the management of each Reserve Bank annually provides an assertion letter to its board of directors that confirms adherence to COSO standards.
The Federal Reserve Board engaged KPMG to audit the 2022 combined and individual financial statements of the Reserve Banks and the financial statements of the three limited liability companies (LLCs) that are associated with the Board of Governors’ actions to address the coronavirus pandemic, of which two LLCs are consolidated in the statements of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and one LLC is consolidated in the statements of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.[1]
In 2022, KPMG also conducted audits of internal controls over financial reporting for each of the Reserve Banks. Fees for KPMG services totaled $9.2 million, of which approximately $1.5 million were for the audits of the LLCs.[2] To ensure auditor independence, the Board of Governors requires that KPMG be independent in all matters relating to the audits. Specifically, KPMG may not perform services for the Reserve Banks or affiliated entities that would place it in a position of auditing its own work, making management decisions on behalf of the Reserve Banks, or in any other way impairing its audit independence. In 2022, the Bank did not engage KPMG for any non-audit services.
Note
- In addition, KPMG audited the Office of Employee Benefits of the Federal Reserve System (OEB), the Retirement Plan for Employees of the Federal Reserve System (System Plan), and the Thrift Plan for Employees of the Federal Reserve System (Thrift Plan). The System Plan and the Thrift Plan provide retirement benefits to employees of the Board, the Federal Reserve Banks, the OEB, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- Each LLC will reimburse the Board of Governors for the fees related to the audit of its financial statements from the entity’s available assets.