Which report must U.S. financial institutions file for cash transactions exceeding a specified amount?

The correct answer is the Currency Transaction Report. This report is mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and requires U.S. financial institutions to file when they engage in cash transactions that exceed a certain threshold, which is currently set at $10,000. The purpose of the Currency Transaction Report is to aid in the detection and prevention of money laundering and other financial crimes by ensuring that significant cash transactions are monitored and reported to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Financial institutions must correctly identify and report these transactions as part of their obligation to maintain compliance with federal laws regarding financial transparency and anti-money laundering efforts. By doing so, they help regulatory bodies track potential illicit activities linked to large cash dealings.

The other choices do not serve this specific purpose. For example, a FinCEN report refers more broadly to various reports that must be filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, but it does not specifically address cash transactions. An annual financial statement is a comprehensive report of a company's financial performance over the year but is not related to cash transaction reporting. A Transaction Assessment Report is not a commonly recognized report related to cash transactions in the financial regulatory framework.