Investment Advisor Accounting
As a natural extension of broker dealer accounting services, Accounting & Compliance International (ACI) has expanded its operations to include investment advisor accounting services. While investment advisors are not currently mandated to file regulatory reports, the United States Congress has heavily debated requiring all 25,000 U.S. based investment advisors to be financially regulated as early as the end of fiscal year 2009. Many investment advisors have been proactive in their efforts to manage the accounting function by searching for accounting outsourcing firms with securities industry experience to provide accurate and timely reports. Because the broker dealer and investment advisor are so similar in nature, broker dealer accounting firms are preparing to assume the financial responsibilities of investment advisors as the new regulations are enacted.
At Accounting & Compliance International, we have accepted the role as provider of investment advisor accounting outsourcing, as we are able to offer the same services to investment advisors that we have offered to their broker dealer counterparts for the past quarter century. The investment advisor accounting process begins with a new firm infusing capital to support the daily activities of the business until sufficient revenues are generated to become a sustainable entity. At ACI, we prepare the investment advisor’s financial statements as if they are already required to file regulatory reports. We have positioned our investment advisor accounting function to easily adapt to the changes in the regulatory environment that are anticipated.
Investment advisor clients at ACI are provided with full-scale bookkeeping outsourcing. Our bookkeeping function begins with recording investment advisor revenues. These revenues are computed as a percentage of assets under management, which ACI will compute and maintain as a receivable on the company books until it has been collected. The bookkeeping staff will then record all investment advisor expenses and run regular payrolls for both employees and company officers. This process provides the Certified Public Accountants at ACI with a core set of investment advisor financial statements. Bank reconciliations, prepaid expense schedules, depreciation schedules, and any monthly accruals will then be completed so that a finalized set of investment advisor financial statements can be provided to the client.
While no regulations currently pertain to the investment advisor community, the U.S. Congress has suggested that by the end of 2009 the expectation is that all investment advisors will be required to file Focus Reports, much like the broker dealer community. As a provider of broker dealer accounting services, ACI would welcome to responsibility of filing regulatory Focus Reports for investment advisors and facilitating the financial examinations conducted by the governing regulators.
Investment Advisor Accounting Services include:
• Bank Reconciliation
• Bookkeeping
• Brokerage Statement Analysis
• Financial Statement Preparation
• Preparation of Net Capital Computations
• Focus Reporting
• FinOp
• FINRA Examination Support
• Financial Audit Support
• Tax Preparation
To inquire into ACI's accounting services, contact us at info@acisecure.com.
