Who oversees the Federal Reserve Banks?
Externally, the safeguards include congressional oversight, directly and through the General Accounting Office, and statutory controls. An additional level of external review is provided by the public through the opportunity to comment on all significant Board proposals. The internal safeguards include oversight by the Board of Governors and Reserve Bank boards of directors through various means, including use of the Board examiners and Reserve Bank internal auditors. Finally, the Federal Reserve itself imposes restrictions upon the conduct of its employees–restrictions intended to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. From Standards Related to Priced-Service Activities of the Federal Reserve Banks, issued 1984. Since 1997, an external audit firm has performed an annual audit of the combined Reserve Bank financial statements and the financial statements of each of the twelve Reserve Banks.