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to the risk that controls may become ineffective because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies |
or procedures may deteriorate. The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the |
Sponsor assessed the effectiveness of the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021. In making |
this assessment, they used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) |
in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) . Their assessment included an evaluation of the design of the Trust’s |
internal control over financial reporting and testing of the operational effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting. |
Based on their assessment and those criteria, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Sponsor concluded |
that the Trust maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021. KPMG LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm |
that audited and reported on the financial statements included in this Form 10-K, as stated in their report which is included herein, |
issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting as of December |
31, 2021. 44 Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting |
Firm To the Sponsor, Trustee and Shareholders Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Tru Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting We have audited Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Trust's (the Trust) internal |
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated |
Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. In our opinion, the Trust maintained, |
in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established |
in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public |
Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the statements of assets and liabilities of the Trust, including the schedules |
of investments, as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related statements of operations and changes in net assets and the financial |
highlights for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively, the |
financial statements), and our report dated February 28, 2022 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements. Basis for Opinion The Trust’s management is responsible for maintaining effective |
internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included |
in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion |
on the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the |
PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Trust in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable |
rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. |
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over |
financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining |
an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating |
the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures |
as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial |
Reporting A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a |
process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements |
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting |
includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly |
reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded |
as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts |
and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and |
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s |
assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial |
reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject |
to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or |
procedures may deteriorate. /s/ KPMG LLP New York, New York February 28, 2022 45 Item 9B. Other Information Not applicable. 46 PART |
III Item |
10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance The |
Trust has no directors or executive officers. The biographies of the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sponsor and |
the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Sponsor are set out be Steven |
Dunn – President and Chief Executive Officer Mr. |
Dunn, CIMA®, is the Head of Exchange Traded Funds at abrdn Inc.. Mr. Dunn guides the firm’s strategic direction and distribution |
strategy for ETFs. Previously, he was a Director with Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management in charge of managing relationships |
with US ETF Strategists and overseeing the Eastern Division sales team. Prior to that, Mr. Dunn was a consultant at Brandywine |
Global Investment Management and has also held sales and distribution strategy positions at iShares, Blackrock and Vanguard. Mr. |
Dunn holds a B.A. degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and has completed his MBA at Pennsylvania |
State University. He holds the Series 7, 24, and 63 registrations as well as the Certified Investment Management Analyst® |
(CIMA®). Andrea |
Melia – Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Ms. |
Melia is Vice President and Senior Director of Product Management for abrdn Inc. Ms. Melia has managed the fund administration |
team since joining abrdn Inc. in September 2009. Prior to joining abrdn Inc., Ms. Melia was Director of fund administration |
and accounting oversight for Princeton Administrators LLC, a division of BlackRock Inc. and had worked with Princeton Administrators |
since 1992. Ms. Melia holds a BS in Accounting from University of Scranton and a MBA from Rider University. As |
described under Item 1 above, abrdn Inc. is the parent of the Sponsor. Item |
11. Executive Compensation The |
Trust has no directors or executive officers. The only ordinary expense paid by the Trust is the Sponsor’s Fee. Item |
12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters Security |
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners There |
are no persons known by the Trust to own directly or indirectly beneficially more than 5% of the outstanding Shares of the Trust. Security |
Ownership of Management Not |
applicable. Change |
in Control Neither |
the Sponsor nor the Trustee knows of any arrangements which may subsequently result in a change in control of the Trust. 47 Item |
13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence The |
Trust has no directors or executive officers. 48 Item |
14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services Fees |
for services performed by KPMG LLP for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 New |
York, NY Auditor ID: 185 December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020 Audit fees – KPMG $ 77,250 $ 77,825 Audit related fees - KPMG — — $ 77,250 $ 77,825 Audit |
Fees are fees paid by the Sponsor to KPMG LLP for professional services for the audit of the Trust’s financial statements |
included in the Form 10-K and review of financial statements included in the Form 10-Qs, and for services that are normally provided |
by the accountants in connection with regulatory filings or engagements. Audit Related Fees are paid by the Sponsor to KPMG LLP |
for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of the Trust’s |
financial statements. These services include the accountant providing a consent letter related to the Trust’s registration statement |
filing. Pre-Approval |
Policies and Procedures As |
referenced in Item 10 above, the Trust has no board of directors, and as a result, has no pre-approval policies or procedures |
with respect to fees paid to KPMG LLP. Such determinations are made by the Sponsor. 49 PART |
IV Item |
15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 1. |
Financial Statements See |
Index to Financial Statements on Page F-1 for a list of the financial statements being filed herein. 2. |
Financial Statement Schedules Schedules |
have been omitted since they are either not required, not applicable, or the information has otherwise been included. 3. |
Exhibits Exhibit No. Description 4.1(a) Depositary Trust Agreement, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-158221 on September 1, 2009 4.1(b) Amendment to the Depositary Trust Agreement effective October 1, 2018, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-234637 on November 12, 2019 4.1(c) Second Amendment to the Depositary Trust Agreement effective December 1, 2018, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 filed with the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K on December 6, 2018 4.1(d) Third Amendment to the Depository Trust Agreement effective June 20, 2019, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 filed with the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K on June 13, 2019 4.2 Form of Authorized Participant Agreement, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 with Registration Statement No. 333-262463 on February 1, 2022. 4.3 Certificate of Beneficial Interest, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-158221 on September 1, 2009 10.1(a) Allocated Account Agreement, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-158221 on September 1, 2009 10.1(b) Amendment to the Allocated Account Agreement effective October 1, 2018, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 filed with the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K on October 5, 2018 10.1(c) Amendment to the Allocated Account Agreement and the Unallocated Account Agreement effective June 29, 2019, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 field with the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K on June 13, 2019 10.1(d) Second amendment to the Allocated Account Agreement effective June 5, 2020 incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 filed with the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K on June 11, 2020 10.2(a) Unallocated Account Agreement, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-158221 on September 1, 2009 10.2(b) Amendment to the Unallocated Account Agreement effective October 1, 2018, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 filed with the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K on October 5, 2018 50 10.2(c) Second amendment to the Unallocated Account Agreement effective June 5, 2020 incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 filed with the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K on June 11, 2020 10.3 Depository Agreement, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-158221 on September 1, 2009 10.4(a) Marketing Agent Agreement, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-158221 on September 1, 2009 10.4(b) Novation of and Amendment No. 1 to the Marketing Agent Agreement effective as of October 1, 2018, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4(b) filed with the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K on February 28, 2019. 23.1 Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 31.1 Chief Executive Officer’s Certificate, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 31.2 Chief Financial Officer’s Certificate, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 32.1 Chief Executive Officer’s Certificate, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 32.2 Chief Financial Officer’s Certificate, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 101 The following financial statements from the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, formatted in Inline XBRL: (i) Statements of Assets and Liabilities, (ii) Statements of Operations, (iii) Statements of Changes in Net Assets, and (iv) Notes to the Financial Statements. 101.SCH Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document 101.CAL Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Document 101.DEF Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definitions Document 101.LAB Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Document 101.PRE Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Document 104 The cover page from the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, formatted in Inline XBRL (included as Exhibit 101). Item |
16. Form 10-K Summary Not |
applicable. 51 Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Trust Financial Statements as of December 31, 2021 Index Page Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm F-2 Statements of Assets and Liabilities at December 31, 2021 and 2020 F-3 Schedules of Investments at December 31, 2021 and 2020 F-4 Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 F-5 Statements of Changes in Net Assets for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 F-6 Financial Highlights for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 F-7 Notes to the Financial Statements F-8 F- 1 Report |
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm To |
the Sponsor, Trustee and Shareholders Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Tru Opinion |
on the Financial Statements We |
have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities of Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Trust (the Trust), including the schedules |
of investments, as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related statements of operations and changes in net assets and the financial |
highlights for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively, the financial |
statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Trust |
as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations, changes in its net assets and financial highlights for |
Subsets and Splits