2011 Corporate Tax Organizer

2011 Individual Tax Organizer

Earlier this month, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 11-46 regarding the filing of annual audit reports.  The notice requires the electronic submission of all annual reports with a fiscal year ending on or after September 30, 2011.  Once FINRA has completed the transition to electronic filing, they will no longer accept reports filed in hard copy form.

Firms are required to submit their annual audit report and any required schedules in electronic form via FINRA’s Firm Gateway.  The required format of the filing is Portable Document Format (PDF).  In addition to the audit report, attached must be an oath or affirmation that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person making such an oath or affirmation, (i) the financial statements and schedules are true and correct and (ii) neither the broker or dealer, nor any partner, officer, or director, as the case may be, has any proprietary interest in any account classified solely as that of a customer.  The oath or affirmation must be made before a person duly authorized to administer such oaths or affirmations (usually a Notary Public).  Please note that the electronic filing requirement also applies to the filing of amended reports if the original report was also filed electrnically.

Firms must submit the oath and affirmation electronically with their annual audit, and must also maintain the oath and affirmation page with an original manual signature (including raised notary seal, where applicable) as part of their books and records, along with the accompanying annual audit report in hard copy form.

Please be advised that it is your responsibility to electronically file your company’s annual report using your FINRA entitlement user identification and password to gain access to the FINRA Firm Gateway.  Also, remember that the due date of the annual report has not been altered as a result of this change in filing procedure.  The report must still be filed no later than 60 calendar days after the end of the company’s fiscal year.

Although FINRA now requires the electronic filing of these reports, it should be emphasized that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has not followed suit.  Accordingly, firms must continue to file annual audit reports in hard copy form with the SEC.

If you have any questions or need clarification of the new rule, please contact our office to discuss your question with a member of our professional staff.

Sincerely,

Kevin G. Breard, CPA

Managing Partner

Here are some pictures (please excuse the image quality of the photos!)…

Guests at the Washington seminar were greeted with warm smiles

Our host in Seattle checking emails and enjoying some OJ before the seminar

The host in Newport Beach opening up the seminar

Kristina discussing the importance of having insurance coverage for cyber liability

Kevin covering updates on fidelity bond rules and electronic submission of audit reports

Our speakers in New York (from left to right- Kevin Breard, Karen Kenyon, Deborah Froling, Kristina Mason, and Andy Prentis

Interested in attending the seminar?  It’s not too late to sign up!

We hope current and new site users enjoy the updates as much as we do!

The September issue of the Journal of Accountancy features an article written by managing partner of Breard & Associates, Kevin Breard. Kevin provides insight for planning a strategic and effective firm retreat.

Follow this link to read the article, “Retreat to Move Forward.”

Rod and Yu Yu practicing professional skepticism

Vince leading the staff meeting

A group shot of the staff

The staff were each given $50 gift cards to purchase applications and will share their thoughts on the effectiveness of the applications as it applies to our daily work activities.

Are there any applications, for business or for fun, that you’d like to recommend?