OCC Bulletin 2016-2| January 15, 2016

External Audits: Interagency Advisory on External Audits of Internationally Active U.S. Financial Institutions

To

Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks, Federal Savings Associations, and Federal Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks; Department and Division Heads; All Examining Personnel; and Other Interested Parties

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the agencies) are issuing this advisory to indicate their support for the principles and expectations set forth in the March 2014 Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) supervisory guidance on external audits of banks.

Note for Community Banks

The BCBS external audit guidance is not applicable to community banks.

Highlights

The BCBS external audit guidance 

  • applies to internationally active banks.
  • aims to improve the quality of external audits of banks and enhance the effectiveness of regulatory supervision, which contribute to financial stability.
  • provides information on the roles and responsibilities of audit committees in external audits.
  • emphasizes the importance of existing auditing standards and makes recommendations on additional audit procedures that an external auditor can perform to improve the quality of bank audits.
  • is generally consistent with current standards and practices in the United States.

Further Information

Please contact Sydney S. Menefee, Deputy Chief Accountant; Vangjola Gjika, Professional Accounting Fellow; or Megan Bocko, Professional Accounting Fellow, Office of the Chief Accountant, at (202) 649-6280.

 

Jennifer C. Kelly
Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief National Bank Examiner

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