FAQs

With industry regulations seemingly changing daily, Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. can act as your firm's anchor in tumultuous waters by clarifying regulations and providing solutions.

Here are some of the questions we most frequently find our friends in the trading industry asking themselves and us:

What is a FINOP?

There are two FINRA registrations that allow an individual to act as a Financial and Operations Principal (FINOP). These are the Series 27 and the Series 28. The Series 27 registration allows the license holder to represent the client firm as a "Limited Principal of Financial Operations". The Series 28 allows the license holder to represent the client firm as a "Limited Principal Introducing Broker Dealer of Financial Operations"

Is my firm required to retain the services of a FINOP (Series 27 or a Series 28)?

Any firm operating pursuant to the $100,000.00 minimum net capital requirement or higher must have a qualified Series 27 FINOP. Any firm operating pursuant to the $50,000.00 minimum net capital requirement, or lower, may choose to have a Series 28 FINOP. However, it is important to note that the Series 27 FINOP satisfies financial operations reporting and oversight requirements for any firm. Jacqueline L. Sloan is a Series 27 fully qualified FINOP which enables her clients to grow their business without having to worry about trading their Series 28 licensed individual for a Series 27 FINOP once they have reached a higher level of worth and a higher minimum net capital requirement.

 

What are a FINOP's functions on behalf of a member firm?

A qualified FINOP can supply the following important services:

Do I need to bring a full time employee on board as my FINOP?

No, FINRA allows firms to retain a qualified Series 27 or Series 28 in a consulting capacity. This individual must be registered on the client firm’s BD and should be provided with access to the Firms’ CRD account in order to facilitate timely financial reporting.

The retention of an consulting base FINOP offers the firm a cost effective means of meeting regulatory compliance while ensuring a fully qualified and industry approved individual is supplying properly licensed FINOP services to the client firm.

Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. brings many years of FINOP experience to our clients.  We have purposely concentrated our efforts on introducing broker firms and proprietary trading firms.  It is this focus that allows us to better understand the specific industry requirements our clients are expected to observe by FINRA and the SEC.

 

Can a FINOP help me understand reporting requirements and deadlines?

Yes, with the increase in regulatory oversight it has become important to be sure all reporting requirements are met in a timely manner.

Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. will assist the client in setting up a common regulatory calendar for such standard items as an annual audit, FOCUS reports, and SIPC reports.

In addition, once access is granted to the client's CRD account, Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. can monitor for requested filings - offering important reminders to the client to meet deadlines and supplying assistance as needed.

Why are the services of a FINOP important instead of just a standard accountant?

In addition to membership rules requiring a licensed FINOP, FINRA and SEC rules encompass many expectations not encountered in ordinary accounting practices.

For instance, such concepts as how the amount of aggregate indebtedness a firm carries may affect the minimum net capital requirement can often be overlooked by a member firm.  Your FINOP can clarify the monitoring of your threshold of aggregate indebtedness to insure it does not exceed the 1500 percent of net capital and not exceed 800 percent in the first year of business.

Also, a standard accountant will not be aware of the fact that if your firm conducts more than ten transactions in a proprietary account in a calendar year, it is required to maintain a minimum of $100,000.00 in net capital.  Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. is not only aware of the rule, as your FINOP we will monitor your firm account on a daily or monthly basis as required by your FINRA membership.

These are just two examples of the many industry specific accounting practices that members need to abide by and that a qualified FINOP can safeguard for the client.

 

Industry rules are changing so rapidly, can a FINOP help me to understand the expectations of regulators?

Yes, Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. is there to answer client's questions.

Every FINRA member is expected to conduct business with due diligence and ignorance of a rule is not considered an acceptable excuse by regulators, but, at Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. we pride ourselves in staying up to date on industry expectations in order to ease the ever changing regulatory obligations for our clients.

What makes Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. different from other FINOP providers?

Unlike some of the larger financial service providers, Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. is committed to specifically providing FINOP services. The difference is important because the regulatory oversight of financial issues is the most important challenge any firm faces when meeting the expectations of FINRA and the SEC. The accuracy and compliance of your books and records are our chief concern and the sole focus of our business- the result - your firm will not be lost in a sea of compliance related issues waiting for an assigned representative to realize there may be a financial issue – before it comes to the notice of regulators.

Most importantly, Jacqueline L. Sloan, Inc. has built an exceptional reputation in the industry and regards any inaccuracies or reporting issues in a client's account, not only as a threat to the good standing our Series 27 license, but to the impeachable reputation of our firm.