Preface

On June 26, 2012, the Executive Committee of the Board approved the 2012-15 Strategic Framework, which identifies and frames the most critical organizational challenges faced by the Board, develops potential options for addressing them, and clarifies the tradeoffs. The Annual Performance Report, 2012 summarizes the Board's accomplishments in 2012 toward achieving the objectives identified in the Strategic Framework.

Both reports are issued in the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, which requires that federal agencies, in consultation with Congress and outside stakeholders, prepare a strategic plan covering a multiyear period and submit an annual performance plan and performance report. The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 refines those requirements to include quarterly performance reporting. Although the Board is not covered by GPRA, the Board follows the spirit of the act and prepares and publicizes these regular plans and performance reports.

Several other documents provide further information about the planning, budgeting, operations, and performance of the Federal Reserve System. As required by the Federal Reserve Act, the Board annually submits to the Congress a report describing in detail the operations of the System for the previous year. Since 1985, the System has also provided the Congress with a supplement, the Annual Report: Budget Review, which provides a detailed explanation of the plans and resources discussed in the approved budgets of the Board and Reserve Banks.