Company: KEY-PI
Filing Date: 2025-03-28
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001193125-25-066284
Chunk: 84

Company: KEYCORP /NEW/
Filing Date: 2025-03-28
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 84
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 directly to the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee oversees the audit fees negotiations associated with KeyCorp’s retention of the independent auditor and has the sole authority to approve the audit fees. In accordance with rules of the SEC, audit partners are subject to rotation requirements to limit the number of consecutive years an individual partner may provide service to KeyCorp. In conjunction with this five-year mandated rotation of the audit firm’s lead engagement partner, the Audit Committee and its chairperson are directly involved in the selection of the independent auditor’s new lead engagement partner. Pursuant to the five-year mandated rotation, a new lead engagement partner was designated in 2021. Ernst & Young has been retained as KeyCorp’s independent external auditor continuously since the 1994 merger of KeyCorp and Society Corporation. The members of the Audit Committee and the Board believe that the continued retention of Ernst & Young to serve as KeyCorp’s independent external auditor is in the best interests of KeyCorp and its investors. In making this determination, the Audit Committee considers the impact to KeyCorp of changing external auditors. At each regularly scheduled meeting, the Audit Committee holds executive sessions and private meetings with individual members of management, internal audit, and the independent external auditor as the Audit Committee deems necessary. In fulfilling its oversight responsibility, the Audit Committee relies on the accuracy of financial and other information, opinions, reports, and statements provided to the Audit Committee. Accordingly, the Audit Committee’s oversight does not provide an independent basis to determine that management has maintained appropriate accounting and financial reporting principles or appropriate internal controls and procedures designed to assure compliance with accounting standards and applicable laws and regulations. Nor does the Audit Committee’s oversight assure that the audit of KeyCorp’s financial statements has been carried out in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards or that the audited financial statements are presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited consolidated financial statements of KeyCorp and the results of Ernst & Young’s audit of KeyCorp’s internal controls over financial reporting for the year ended December 31, 2024 (“Audited Financial Statements”) with KeyCorp’s management and Ernst & Young. In addition, the Audit Committee has discussed with Ernst & Young the Critical Audit Matters and the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the SEC. A portion of the Audit Committee’s review and discussion with Ernst & Young occurred in private sessions, without KeyCorp management present. The Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from Ernst & Young required by