7 Most Popular Tips to Prepare for Broker-Dealer Audit Services

Broker-dealers face a few separate challenges than other financial service providers. Because they offer advice and proprietary financial products, broker-dealers must meet compliance regulations. Their financial statements must be clear and accurate, and their internal controls must be adequate.

Each year, auditors pay a visit to broker-dealers, a crucial part of regulatory requirements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) mandate these audits to uphold the industry’s integrity. 

Just a few simple steps to prepare for the audit can help your firm calm its nerves. Here are seven ways to get ready for broker dealer audit services visits.

1. Understand the Goals of the Audit

The main objective of a broker-dealer audit is to ensure the firm is meeting regulatory compliance. Auditors take a close look at the firm’s financial statements and verify their financial protocol integrity. Knowing these goals can help your firm prepare to give broker dealer audit services the information they need. 

2. Gather a Lot of Supporting Documentation

Paperwork lies near the heart of financial audits, and broker dealer audits are no different. Make sure you collect all documentation that the auditor will request, including:

• Financial statements

• General ledger

• Accounting records

• Client account records

• Compliance documents and regulatory filings

• Policy and procedure documentation

• Insurance policies

• Corporate governance documents

• Employee records

The auditor may ask for other types of documentation, so be prepared to retrieve whatever records they need.

3. Communicate Openly With Your Team

Be honest and forthright with your staff in anticipation of the auditor’s visit. Set expectations and help them prepare the documents they may be responsible for. Always be available to answer your team’s questions and concerns before the visit.

4. Understand the Auditor’s Independence Requirements

Broker-dealers are generally responsible for selecting their auditor services. They need to be independent of your firm and can’t already be managing your accounting, financial statements, or other management areas. Seek auditors who have track records of quality and integrity.

5. Communicate With Your Auditor

Keep all lines of communication with your auditor open. If your firm has changed the way it works, entered into new business agreements, opened up new avenues of revenue, or made other adjustments, let the auditor know. This will define how the audit will be conducted and reinforce the trust between you and your auditor.

6. Stay Compliant With Regulations

Regulatory compliance is your responsibility at all times. It’s well worth your time to double-check your compliance status all year, especially in the days before your audit is scheduled to take place.

7. Keep Calm and Carry On

Audits inevitably cause shivers of anxiety, even if they’re expected, annual routines. Staying calm and relaxed demonstrates the professional nature of your business and shows confidence in your procedures. Believe it or not, steadying those nerves can make the process run smoothly or produce a favorable outcome.

Get Through Your Audit

By following these procedures and preparations, your broker-dealer firm can facilitate the next visit from your local auditor.

4 Great Reasons to Use Reputable Broker Dealer Audit Services

Partnering with a firm that provides broker dealer audit services makes sense for many reasons, with the most important reason involving protecting investors. However, conducting broker dealer audits also is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to several consumer protection laws, the SEC requires organizations that provide broker dealer audit services to register with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

Ernst Wintter & Associates (EWA) complies with SEC regulations by registering with the PCAOB to provide highly rated broker dealer audit services. Our accountants deliver broker dealer audit services to protect investors in four important ways.

Analyze Financial Statements

If your organization hires a firm to deliver broker dealer audit services for just one reason, the reason would be to ensure the accuracy of all financial statements. Investors depend on your organization to maintain highly accurate books before they invest in your mission. The accountants at EWA provide broker dealer audit services that follow the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Just one minor bookkeeping mistake can turn a financially solvent organization into an organization that swims in a sea of red ink.

Scrutinize Accounts Payable

A firm that provides broker dealer audit services should ensure that your organization is up to date in meeting debt obligations. From paying for supplies to meeting payroll obligations, your organization cannot afford to fall behind on bills. Although it is considered an automatic element of maintaining a clean bookkeeping system, you might be surprised to learn that a large number of organizations fail to meet accounts payable obligations because of lax monitoring standards.

Confirm Revenue Sources

One of the unethical ways organizations improve the appearance of their financial statuses is to claim revenue sources that do not exist. This unethical strategy is to entice potential investors to send organizations money. At EWA, our Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) go through revenue statements to confirm every claimed source of revenue, as well as the monetary value of each claim. We uncover any attempt to conceal the identities of revenue sources by claiming revenue sent by ghost or shell companies.

Regulatory Compliance

The SEC has created a lengthy list of regulations to meet the goals established by federal legislation as the Dobb-Frank Act, which Congress passed in response to the financial meltdown that developed in late 2007. Legal protections enforced by the FEC include protecting potential investors from the fraudulent bookkeeping practices implemented by for-profit and nonprofit organizations. One of the goals of the broker dealer audit services provided by EWA involves ensuring full compliance with the regulations enforced by the SEC.

Receive Comprehensive Broker Dealer Audit Services

One of the most important regulations implemented by the FEC is for organizations to receive broker dealer audit services at least one time a year. Receiving an audit conducted by EWA ensures your organization fully complies with PCAOB registration standards, as well as every SEC regulation. You can expect an audit to reveal any financial issues that compromise the actions taken by investors.

Everything You Need to Know About Broker Dealer Audits

When you receive a medical diagnosis, as well as a recommendation on how to proceed with the diagnosis, you should seek a second opinion from a trusted healthcare source before you move forward. As a nonprofit organization, you should receive a second opinion on your organization’s finances in the form of receiving broker dealer audit services. At Ernest Winnter & Associates (EWA), our team of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) deliver several different types of broker dealer audit services to help your business or nonprofit remain financially healthy, as well as comply with the regulations established by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

Here are a few of the audit services provided by Ernst Winnter & Associates:

Verify Revenue Sources

The SEC wants to know where nonprofit organizations receive their donations for two important reasons. First, the confirmation of revenue sources ensures your nonprofit remains a financially viable organization. Second, the federal government wants to match every donation with every tax donation taken by businesses and individuals. We perform a comprehensive audit of your books to verify every source of revenue as part of our broker dealer audit services. You can expect our team of CPAs to examine bank-deposited checks, as well as monthly bank statements.

Review Accounts Payable

Nonprofit organizations share one major financial mistake: They do not account for every bill. EWA offers broker dealer audit services that reveal every bill to prevent your organization from falling into the red. We ask questions to determine who your regular creditors are in addition to accounting for one-time bills such as the fee paid to form a nonprofit organization. Since most nonprofit organizations operate on razor-thin budgets, just forgetting to pay one bill on the accounts payable ledger can lead to financial losses.

Examine Financial Statements

Nonprofit organizations are required by law to submit accurate financial disclosure statements for state and federal government agencies to conduct reviews. If your nonprofit submits inaccurate financial disclosure statements or you fail to meet the deadline for filing various financial disclosure statements, your nonprofit organization runs the risk of losing its non-exempt status. EWA examines your financial disclosure statements by following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Regulation Compliance

Because of their tax-exempt status, nonprofit organizations receive plenty of scrutiny from state and federal regulators. Part of our broker dealer audit services involves ensuring our clients comply with all government regulations. Our CPAs help your nonprofit meet every deadline, as well as strictly follow the requirements established by the appropriate monitoring agencies. Penalties for regulatory noncompliance range from minor fines to the stripping of a nonprofit organization’s charter.

Broker Dealer Audit Services Help Your Organization Stay in Business

Hiring a company that provides broker dealer audit services is much more than a necessary expense. Broker dealer audit services help your organization remain financially healthy and comply with every type of government regulation. However, do not just take our word for it. We encourage businesses and nonprofits to review every financial review document signed by our team of CPAs.

What Do Broker Dealer Audit Services Look For During Audits?

After the financial meltdown towards the end of 2007, the United States Congress passed a series of laws to tighten regulations on banks and other financial institutions that sold securities. As the most influential piece of legislation, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 imposed several rules and regulations to prevent future acts of securities fraud.

As the organization responsible for overseeing broker dealers, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) applied several additional standards for broker dealers to follow. One of the most important standards concerns how often broker dealers must complete broker dealer audit services. Another important standard applied by the PCAOB involves describing what the companies that provide broker dealer audit services must look for during audits.

Here are four critical areas that Ernst Wintter & Associates look at during audits.

Verify Revenue Sources

In addition to complying with government regulations, as well as the standards applied by the PCAOB, companies that provide broker dealer audit services also look for certain accounting areas to help investors decide where to invest their money. One accounting area that is especially helpful for investors is revenue sources. Investors want to know whether a nonprofit organization is generating enough money to remain financially viable.

One of the most important types of broker dealer audit services that we offer is to perform a comprehensive audit that confirms every source of revenue generated by a nonprofit organization.

Ensure Bills Get Paid On Time

Most organizations focus on generating the revenue they need to fulfill their missions. What many organizations fail to do is stay on top of paying bills. Our team of accountants ensures every bill gets paid on time by examining the accounts payable ledger. We also go through every current bill to ensure our clients do not fall behind on fulfilling debt obligations. Since nonprofits operate on razor-thin budgets, failing to pay just one bill can send them into the red.

Review Financial Disclosure Statements

According to federal law, nonprofit organizations must submit accurate financial disclosure statements before specified deadlines for state and federal regulatory agencies to examine. If your nonprofit sends inaccurate financial disclosure statements, your organization might lose its nonprofit status. You can expect to lose your nonprofit status if your organization fails to send in the proper documents. EWA helps clients meet the deadlines for filing accurate financial disclosure statements.

Follow State and Federal Regulations

The flurry of rules and regulations imposed by state and federal government agencies can overwhelm an understaffed nonprofit organization. With the administrative support provided by EWA, your nonprofit organization complies with every rule and regulation applied at the state and federal levels. If you do not comply with government regulations, you face penalties that run from as light as a small fine to as heavy as having to close your nonprofit organization permanently.

Broker Dealer Audit Services Keeps Your Nonprofit Financially Healthy

At EWA, our team of accountants understands you have to juggle several responsibilities at the same time, which include recruiting volunteers and attracting the interest of potential donors. Remove one important responsibility from your long list of things to do by hiring EWA to provide professional broker dealer audit services.

Can I Use My Firm’s Public Accountant for My Broker Dealer Audit?

In response to the rampant securities fraud discovered during the financial meltdown that unfolded at the end of 2007, the United States Congress passed into law the landmark Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The historically significant federal law implemented several standards to prevent securities fraud and other types of financial crimes. As the body responsible for regulating the behavior of broker dealers, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) sets the standards for accounting firms to follow when providing broker dealer audit services.

One of the standards created and monitored by the PCAOB concerns how often broker dealers must undergo the audits conducted by firms that provide broker dealer audit services. This standard grants broker dealers some flexibility, as they should complete audits every one to four years. At Ernst Wintter & Associates, we recommend that broker dealers undergo thorough audits at least one time a year to ensure fully financial integrity. Another area of oversight for the PCAOB involves establishing the guidelines for the types of auditors that qualify to provide broker dealer audit services.

This brings up one important question for broker dealers: Can I use my firm’s public accountant for my broker dealer audit?

One of the underlying principles followed by the PCAOB when monitoring compliance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 is to ensure full compliance with the groundbreaking federal law. This means every audit provided by firms that conduct broker dealer audit services should result in the release of 100 percent accurate financial data and information. The PCAOB clearly states that full financial report compliance is not possible if broker dealers use in-house accountants to conduct audits. This means the firms that provide broker dealer audit services must be completely independent of the broker dealers that they audit.

Let’s review three common financial areas that an independent accounting from such as Ernst Wintter & Associates reviews when conducting a full audit for a broker dealer.

Financial Statements

The most important of the broker dealer audit services provided by an independent accountant concerns ensuring a client files accurate financial statements with the SEC before all mandated deadlines. Submitting accurate financial statements ensures non-profit organizations maintain their tax-exempt status, as well as helps private corporations avoid hefty fines. The key to filing accurate financial statements is to limit the number of filing exemptions.

Confirm Revenue Sources

If you have heard of the term “cook the books,” it typically refers to altering financial statements to look like an organization is financially healthy. An independent accounting firm like Ernst Wintter & Associates meticulously combs through financial statements to verify every revenue stream. For example, we verify the payments made by the customers of private businesses. In addition, we ensure that non-profit organizations do not treat the promise of donations as donations that are listed in financial statements.

Bill Payments

It is one thing to confirm every revenue stream. It is quite another to pay every bill. One of the key services provided by an independent auditor is to ensure clients pay every bill. A surprising number of both private and non-profit organizations fail to keep up with their debt obligations. From not paying rent to failing to cover loan payments, falling behind on bills is a recipe for financial disaster. The independent auditors at Ernst Wintter & Associates discover every unpaid bill to ensure our clients never fall into a deep financial hole.

Am I Required By Law to Use Broker Dealer Audit Services Regularly?

Broker dealers represent businesses that buy and sell securities either for themselves or on behalf of clients. To follow the guidelines established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), broker dealers must have their financial statements examined by an independent accounting firm. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 grants management of the auditors of broker dealers to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

The question is not should firms that buy and sell securities use broker dealer audit services. The answer clearly is yes as mandated by the SEC and closely monitored by the PCAOB. The question becomes how often do broker dealers have to undergo independent audits by firms such as Ernst Wintter & Associates? To comply with SEC regulations, broker dealers should use broker dealer audit services every one to four years. However, receiving an independent audit at least one time a year ensures compliance with PCAOB inspection and registration guidelines, as well as SEC regulations.

What Does the Law Require From Broker Dealers?

When broker dealers file their reports with the SEC, they are required by federal law to include financial statements and every supporting schedule. They also must submit the audit reports compiled by an independent accounting firm that is registered with the PCAOB. Broker dealers use broker dealer audit services to file exemption and compliance reports, along with review and examination documents prepared by the same independent accounting firm that prepared the audit reports.

The Dodd-Frank Act authorizes the PCAOB to create an inspection program for the independent accountants that provide broker dealer audit services. Most of the federal law regulating broker dealer audit services gives the PCAOB flexibility in determining the scope of inspections, as well as how often they must occur. Every audit conducted by accountants that provide broker dealer audit services must comply with PCAOB standards.

What Are the Standards for Providing Broker Dealer Audit Services?

One standard required by the PCAOB concerns the requirements broker dealers must follow when adding statements to their financial reports. According to the PCAOB, broker dealers must gather sufficient evidence based on empirical data to comply with the examination standards established by the PCAOB. Independent accounting firms that provide broker dealer audit services must follow all examination standards during the most recent fiscal year. The examination standards monitored by the PCAOB also should consider the risk of fraud, which includes the abuse of consumer financial assets.

Every examination standard created and monitored by the PCAOB should be implemented based on the size and organizational structure of an audited broker dealer. The PCAOB defines what qualifies exemptions of certain information to ensure broker dealers do not omit critical financial data and information. According to SEC Rule 17a-5, independent accounting firms that provide broker dealer audit services must obtain assurance from broker dealers that the audit broker dealers meet the exemption requirements set forth by the PCAOB.

The goal of the standards created and implemented by the PCAOB is to persuade broker dealers to maintain and present accurate financial records.

The Bottom Line: Broker Dealers Should Use Broker Dealer Audit Services Regularly

Federal law requires broker dealers to undergo financial inspections conducted by an independent accounting firm. Although broker dealers have up to four years to complete independent audits, they should consider completing audits at least one time a year to comply fully with SEC and PCAOB guidelines and standards.