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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Accounting

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Monday, March 4, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    110 minutes

Credit Information

  • BARBRI is a NASBA CPE sponsor and this 110-minute webinar is accredited for 2.0 CPE credits.

$197.00
CPE
ALL

This course will provide audit professionals and advisers with practical guidance for conducting broker-dealer audits, offering tools to avoid the most common and costly risk areas in broker-dealer audits as identified in PCAOB annual inspections. The panelist will offer their experiences and practical approaches to prevent or resolve audit deficiencies.

Faculty

Harley Aronoff
Partner
PKF O'Connor Davies, LLP

Mr. Aronoff is the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Quality Assurance Leader at PKF O’Connor Davies. He has over 15 years of experience in broker-dealer audits, regulations, and operations. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Aronoff spent eight years as an inspector at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). He also served as a broker-dealer technical expert on the Broker-Dealer Inspection Group’s Technical Review Committee. In addition, Mr. Aronoff worked as a Branch Operations Specialist at Edward Jones & Co. and was the Financial Reporting Manager at Citi Hedge Fund Services where he was responsible for the preparation and filing of regulatory computations and FOCUS Reports for over 50 broker-dealers. He also was a former Series 24 FINRA licensed Principal for a regional broker-dealer.

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Description

On Aug. 10, 2023, the PCAOB issued its Annual Report on the Interim Inspection Program Related to Audits of Brokers and Dealers. PCAOB stated that in prior years engagement deficiency rates were unacceptably high, and "with few notable exceptions, deficiency rates observed in 2022 inspections generally increased or remained elevated... ."

90 percent of the 50 firms examined had reported deficiencies in audit and/or attestation engagements. Of the audited statements, PCAOB inspection findings showed high deficiencies in areas including revenue, net capital supplemental information, auditors’ reports, and audit documentation.

Broker-dealer auditors are responsible for reporting to the SEC on material inadequacies and ensuring compliance with net capital and customer funds segregation rules. The SEC requires broker-dealer auditors to register with the PCAOB and be inspected regularly.

Listen as Harley Aronoff, CPA, Partner at PKF O’Connor Davies, offers practical guidance on what PCAOB inspectors are looking for and the underlying reasons certain areas are more heavily scrutinized. The program will discuss auditors' duties to maintain independence, assess risks of material misstatements due to fraud, and review the use of confirmation technology to verify statements and arrangements.

Outline

  1. Securing your auditor and auditor credentials
  2. Broker-dealer audit inspection overview
    1. Relevant regulations
    2. Small Business Correction Act
    3. Broker-dealer audit issues
      1. Revenue
      2. Related-party transactions
  3. Best practices for audit preparation/effective pre-planning
    1. Look-back: what worked/did not from past season
    2. Problem areas to address prior to year end
    3. Planning work and discussion with auditors
    4. How to prepare for areas of audit focus
      1. Revenue
      2. Adopting new standards--for example leases
      3. Financial reporting
    5. Broker-dealer audit experiences
    6. Use of confirmation technology to detect fraud
  4. Challenges to anticipate/practical solutions
    1. Contractual support (discuss each type of revenue stream)
    2. Reconciled schedules
    3. Use of an experienced FINOP
    4. Security of support
    5. Common plan broker-dealer errors
    6. Potential fixes for errors
    7. Duties to assess risk of material misstatement due to fraud

Benefits

The panelist will review these and other key issues:

  • Understanding the areas of highest risk in broker-dealer audits
  • Identifying and avoiding the most common mistakes in broker-dealer audits
  • Establishing a system of quality control to ensure compliance with PCAOB standards
  • Addressing auditor independence

NASBA Details

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Understand the areas of highest risk in broker-dealer audits
  • Identify the most common mistakes in broker-dealer audits
  • Assess the risks of material misstatements
  • Recognize the best practices for audit preparation
  • Establish a system of quality control within PCAOB guidelines
  • Ascertain the additional auditing concerns when transactions involve related parties

  • Field of Study: Auditing
  • Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
  • Advance Preparation: None
  • Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
  • Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
  • Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
  • Prerequisite: Three years plus business or public firm experience at mid-level within the organization, preparing complex tax forms and schedules, supervising other preparers/accountants. Specific knowledge and understanding of practical guidance for conducting broker-dealer audits, knowing how to avoid the most common and costly risk areas in broker-dealer audits as identified in PCAOB annual inspections; familiarity with how to prevent or resolve audit deficiencies.

Strafford Publications, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.