Description

A focused course, tailored for you

Fund Accounting Precision for Securities Services

Build the reconciliation, corporate actions, and regulatory reporting discipline that closes cleanly every month-end.

Every month-end close leaves a residue: one unexplained break in the custodian reconciliation, one corporate action entitlement that posted late, one fair-value adjustment flagged by the auditor six weeks after you signed it off. Senior investment accountants carry that residue forward into the next close. This course eliminates it by building the artefact discipline that makes every position, every accrual, and every regulatory submission defensible on demand.

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

Securities services accounting sits at the intersection of three data streams: the custodian's position feed, the investment manager's order management data, and the fund's own sub-ledger. When those three disagree, the break surfaces at the worst possible moment. The month-end NAV is pending, the depository is asking for the ABOR reconciliation, and the audit trail for the disputed corporate action entitlement is split across three systems and two email threads. The reconciliation is eventually resolved, but the next break is already forming. The course addresses the structural causes: inadequate break-log discipline, missing instruction chains for voluntary corporate actions, and period-end evidence packs that satisfy the accountant but not the external auditor.

What you walk away with

Run a custodian-to-ABOR reconciliation that surfaces every break with a clear aging log and resolution owner.
Build an instruction chain for voluntary and mandatory corporate actions that captures entitlement, election deadline, and posting confirmation in a single traceable record.
Produce a month-end evidence pack that answers internal control questions and external audit queries from the same document set.
Apply the correct accrual methodology for fixed income, equity dividends, and derivatives income so reclassification requests stop recurring.
Structure a AIFMD and MiFID II periodic reporting workflow that draws from the accounting sub-ledger without manual re-keying.
Hand off a reconciliation break or valuation query to an auditor or counterparty with a self-contained evidence bundle, not an email thread.

The 12 modules

Module 1. The Accounting Book of Record: What It Must Contain and Why

Defines the ABOR as the single source of truth for fund valuation and regulatory reporting. Covers the minimum data attributes each position record must carry: security identifier, quantity, cost basis, unrealised gain/loss, accrued income, and the source feed that populated each field. Explains why ABOR-IBOR divergence is a structural risk, not a system problem, and how to diagnose it from the break log rather than from a system comparison report.

Module 2. Custodian Feed Reconciliation: Building the Daily Break Log

Walks through the construction of a daily custodian-to-ABOR break log that ages each item, assigns a resolution owner, and escalates automatically at three-day and five-day thresholds. Covers the five most common break types in securities services: timing differences, corporate action entitlement gaps, FX revaluation mismatches, failed settlement carry-forwards, and fee accrual discrepancies. Produces a template break log with aging rules and a standard resolution narrative field.

Module 3. Corporate Actions: Mandatory Events and the Instruction Chain

Covers the full instruction chain for mandatory corporate actions: cash dividend, stock dividend, stock split, rights issue, and merger. For each event type, defines the announcement date, record date, ex-date, and payment date fields that must be captured in the accounting record. Builds an instruction chain template that links the custodian notification, the fund manager's instruction (where required), the sub-ledger posting, and the entitlement confirmation into a single traceable document.

Module 4. Voluntary Corporate Actions: Election Management and Evidence

Addresses the higher-risk category of voluntary corporate actions where the fund must make an election by a deadline: tender offers, rights elections, consent solicitations, exchange offers. Builds an election management log that records the instruction received from the investment manager, the election submitted to the custodian, the deadline, and the outcome posting. Explains how to construct the evidence pack if the election outcome is queried by audit or the fund board.

Module 5. Income Accruals: Fixed Income, Equity, and Derivatives

Covers the three accrual methodologies most frequently reclassified at audit: bond coupon accruals on an actual/actual or 30/360 basis, equity dividend accruals from ex-date to payment date, and total return swap financing leg accruals. For each, defines when the accrual opens, how it is carried, and when it is released against the cash receipt. Builds a period-end accrual reconciliation that maps the sub-ledger balance to the custodian's income account and flags any difference above the materiality threshold.

Module 6. Fair Value Adjustments: Derivatives and Illiquid Securities

Addresses the valuation adjustments most likely to generate audit queries: OTC derivatives marked at model value, Level 3 securities with no observable market price, and suspended or side-pocket positions. Covers the valuation committee approval chain, the independent price verification record, and the adjustment narrative that satisfies both the fund auditor and the depositary. Builds a fair-value adjustment log that links each adjustment to its approval, its source price, and the next scheduled revaluation date.

Module 7. NAV Calculation: The Sign-Off Pack That Closes the Month

Constructs the NAV sign-off pack that the accounting team produces at period-end: the position reconciliation summary, the income and expense ledger, the open breaks with resolution status, the fair-value adjustment schedule, and the NAV movement analysis showing the sources of the period's return. Explains what each section must demonstrate to the fund administrator, the depositary, and the external auditor, and what a missing or weak section signals about the accounting control environment.

Module 8. AIFMD Annex IV Reporting: Drawing from the Sub-Ledger

Maps the AIFMD Annex IV periodic reporting fields directly to the accounting sub-ledger data attributes covered in modules 1 through 7. Covers fund-level fields (NAV, leverage, liquidity profile), portfolio-level fields (asset class breakdown, geographic exposure, counterparty concentration), and the risk fields that require input from the risk system rather than the accounting record. Builds a reporting data extract that populates Annex IV fields from the sub-ledger without manual re-keying, and flags the fields that require a separate risk-system pull.

Module 9. MiFID II Transaction Reporting: The Accounting Team's Contribution

Clarifies the accounting team's role in MiFID II transaction reporting: which data fields originate in the sub-ledger, which originate in the order management system, and how errors in the accounting record propagate into reportable transaction data. Covers the instrument identification fields (ISIN, CFI, FISN), the price and quantity fields that must match the trade confirm, and the late-reporting remediation process when an accounting correction creates a reportable amendment.

Module 10. The Audit Evidence Pack: Answering Questions in Two Minutes

Builds the audit evidence pack structure that lets a senior investment accountant answer any query on a position, accrual, or corporate action within the same working session. The pack has five sections: position audit trail, income audit trail, corporate action instruction chain, fair-value approval record, and break log extract. Covers the naming convention and version control that keeps each pack retrievable months after the period closes.

Module 11. Period-End Close Checklist: The Sequence That Prevents Reopening

Defines the period-end close sequence for a securities services fund accounting team: the order of operations from the last trade date through the NAV publication deadline, the sign-off gates that must be cleared before each subsequent step, and the escalation path when a break or adjustment cannot be resolved before the deadline. Builds a close checklist that doubles as the audit evidence that the close process was followed, with time stamps and named approvers at each gate.

Module 12. Counterparty and Depositary Queries: The Self-Contained Response

Covers the three categories of external query that senior investment accountants receive most often: depositary challenges to the NAV, prime broker reconciliation disputes on derivative positions, and transfer agent queries on subscription and redemption processing. For each, defines the self-contained response bundle: the specific sub-ledger extract, the instruction chain or trade confirm, and the calculation methodology narrative. Explains how to structure the response so it closes the query in one exchange rather than generating a follow-up request.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

The custodian reconciliation has three breaks older than five days and the depositary is asking for the ABOR sign-off. Modules 2 and 7 produce the break log with resolution status and the NAV pack that closes the sign-off.

A voluntary rights issue election was submitted late and the entitlement posting is disputed. Module 4 produces the instruction chain and the evidence pack that answers the custodian's query.

The auditor has raised a query on the bond coupon accrual from the previous quarter. Module 5 produces the accrual reconciliation that maps the sub-ledger balance to the cash receipt.

The AIFMD Annex IV submission is due and the data extract from the sub-ledger is missing three fields. Module 8 identifies which fields require a risk-system pull and builds the extraction workflow.

What you get with this course

12 written modules covering the full fund accounting close cycle for securities services professionals.
Downloadable break log template with aging rules and resolution owner fields.
Corporate action instruction chain template covering mandatory and voluntary event types.
Month-end NAV sign-off pack structure with sign-off gate sequence and approval fields.
AIFMD Annex IV data mapping from sub-ledger fields to report fields.
Audit evidence pack template with five-section structure and version control naming convention.
Hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, built for the specific reconciliation and reporting environment described in your enrolment.

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.

Before and after

Before

Month-end closes with three to five breaks unresolved, a fair-value adjustment the auditor will likely query, and an Annex IV submission built from a manually assembled spreadsheet that no one else can reconstruct.

After

A close sequence where every break has an owner and an age, every corporate action has a traceable instruction chain, and every audit query can be answered with a self-contained evidence pack retrieved in under ten minutes.

What happens if you do not address this

The cost of an unresolved break log is not just the next audit finding. It is the NAV restatement that follows when a break that was carried for two quarters is eventually resolved the wrong way, and the depositary challenge that surfaces because the accrual methodology was not documented. Senior accountants who cannot produce a self-contained evidence pack on demand spend disproportionate time on remediation rather than on the close itself.

Who it is for

Senior investment accountants and fund accountants working within a global custodian, prime broker, or asset servicer environment. Responsible for NAV calculation, position reconciliation, income accruals, and periodic regulatory submissions. Accountable for the audit trail when internal or external reviewers question a valuation, entitlement, or classification decision.

Who this is NOT for. Fund managers or portfolio managers who do not own the accounting close. Trade operations staff focused on settlement rather than the accounting book of record. Compliance officers whose primary concern is conduct rather than financial reporting accuracy.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. Each module is designed to be completed in 30-45 minutes. The full course can be worked through in three focused sessions or taken module by module alongside the monthly close cycle.

Why $199 is the right number

Generic fund accounting training covers the theory. This course covers the specific artefacts: the break log format, the corporate action instruction chain, the audit evidence pack, and the Annex IV mapping that a senior investment accountant in a securities services environment actually produces. The implementation playbook is built for the recipient's specific context, not for a generic fund type.

FAQ

Is this relevant if my fund range includes both UCITS and AIFs?

Yes. Modules 1 through 7 cover the accounting close discipline that applies across both fund types. Modules 8 and 9 address AIFMD and MiFID II specifically, with a note on where UCITS reporting requirements diverge.

Does the course cover derivatives accounting in detail?

Modules 5 and 6 cover derivatives accruals and fair-value adjustments respectively. The focus is on the accounting record and audit evidence rather than on derivatives pricing methodology.

How is the implementation playbook tailored?

The playbook is built by Gerard after enrolment, based on the fund types, custodian relationships, and regulatory obligations described in your enrolment details. It maps the course artefacts to your specific close cycle.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.