| For immediate release |
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The Federal Reserve Board said today it has expanded its audit contract with Coopers & Lybrand to include an annual financial audit of each of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. These audits by the independent outside auditor will be in addition to the annual audit of the combined Reserve Bank financial statements that Coopers & Lybrand has conducted since 1995. The use of an outside accounting firm to audit all 12 Reserve Banks was announced recently by Chairman Alan Greenspan during a Washington, D.C. speech. Since 1995, Coopers & Lybrand has conducted year-end audits of the combined Reserve Bank financial statements, as well as the individual financial statements of two or three Reserve Banks per year. The audit of the 1995 combined Reserve Bank financial statements represented the first such audit conducted by an independent accounting firm. Based on the success of this program, the Board has decided to extend the outside audit to all 12 Reserve Banks. The Reserve Banks will continue to be audited by each Bank's internal audit function and by the Board's financial examiners. The General Accounting Office also conducts audits of the Reserve Banks. |