U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM N-17f-2 Certificate of Accounting of Securities and Similar Investments in the Custody of Management Investment Companies Pursuant to Rule 17f-2 [17 CFR 270, 17f-2] 1. Investment Company Act File Number: Date examination completed: 811-6061 10/31/02 2. State Identification Number: AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY PUERTO RICO Other (specify): 3. Exact name of investment company as specified in registration statement: Federated Index Trust 4. Address of principal executive office: (number, street, city, state, zip code) Federated Investors Tower, Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3379 INSTRUCTIONS This Form must be completed by the investment companies that have custody of securities or similar investments. Investment Company 1. All items must be completed by the investment company. 2. Give this Form to the independent public accountant who, in compliance with Rule 17f-2 under the Act and applicable state law, examines securities and similar investments in the custody of the investment company. Accountant 3. Submit this Form to the Securities and Exchange Commission and appropriate state securities administrators when filing the certificate of accounting required by Rule 17f-2 under the Act and applicable state law. File the original and one copy with the Securities and Exchange Commission's principal office in Washington, D.C., one copy with the regional office for the region in which the investment company's principal business operations are conducted, and one copy with the appropriate state administrator(s), if applicable. THIS FORM MUST BE GIVEN TO YOUR INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT Note: The estimated average burden hours are made solely for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and are not derived from a comprehensive or even a representative survey or study of the costs of SEC rules and forms. Direct any comments concerning the accuracy of the estimated average burden hours for compliance with SEC rules and forms to Kenneth A. Fogash, Deputy Executive Director, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549 and Gary Waxman, Clearance Officer, Office of Management and Budget, Room 3208 New Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20503. Independent Auditor's Report To the Board of Trustees of Federated Index Trust We have examined management's assertion, included in the accompanying Management Statement Regarding Compliance With Certain Provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, that Federated Index Trust (the "Trust") complied with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f-2 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") as of October 31, 2002. Management is responsible for the Trust's compliance with those requirements. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on management's assertion about the Trust's compliance based on our examination. Our examination was conducted in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and, accordingly, included examining, on a test basis, evidence about the Trust's compliance with those requirements and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. Included among our procedures were the following tests performed as of October 31, 2002: o Confirmation of all securities held by institutions in book entry form at the Depository Trust Company; o Reconciliation of all such securities to the books and records of the Trust and Deutsche Bank. We believe that our examination provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. Our examination does not provide a legal determination on the Trust's compliance with specified requirements. In our opinion, management's assertion that Federated Index Trust complied with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f-2 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 as of October 31, 2002, with respect to securities reflected in the investment accounts of the Trust, is fairly stated, in all material respects. This report is intended solely for the information and use of management and the Board of Trustees of the Trust and the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties. /s/ Ernst & Young LLP Boston, Massachusetts February 28, 2003 Management Statement Regarding Compliance With Certain Provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 We, as members of management of Federated Index Trust (the "Trust"), are responsible for complying with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f-2, "Custody of Investments by Registered Management Investment Companies," of the Investment Company Act of 1940. We also are responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal controls over compliance with those requirements. We have performed an evaluation of the Trust's compliance with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f-2 as of October 31, 2002 and from August 31, 2002 through October 31, 2002. Based on this evaluation, we assert that the Trust was in compliance with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f-2 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 as of October 31, 2002 with respect to securities reflected in the investment accounts of the Trust. /s/Richard J. Thomas Richard J. Thomas President /s/Richard J. Thomas Richard J. Thomas Treasurer