SAS 70 Working Group Meeting
The AMG SAS 70 Working Group met this afternoon and made progress in its initiative to create a "baseline" of proposed control objectives that would be included in a SAS 70 audit report. Joan Binstock, COO of Lord Abbett and member of the AMG Steering Committee, is Chair of the SAS 70 Working Group. Today, representatives of seven AMG member firms met with professionals from the accounting community and evaluated various financial control objectives and how they might be included in a standard SAS 70. The goal of the Working Group is to develop a standard SAS 70 for asset managers based upon a "principles" approach. This group expects to issue the proposed control objectives by mid-June.
To participate in this initiative, please email Douglas Taggart of SIFMA.
Training Class on Global Lifecycle of a Trade: Friday, June 8, 2007
The Asset Managers Forum ("AMF") will host a training class offered by the Global Financial Markets Institute ("GFMI") on the global lifecycle of the trade on Friday, June 8, 2007 at 360 Madison Avenue in New York City.
This one day program introduces operations and technology personnel to the trade lifecycle and its related infrastructure from the perspective of both the U.S. and international markets. Product focus includes both equity and fixed income instruments. Participants follow the sequence of activity that occurs "behind the scenes" on trade date once a customer's order is executed through the final exchange of assets on settlement date This class is also important in light of the asset management initiatives of SIFMA that rely on an understanding of trade flow. As a result of this class, attendees will be able to:
- Identify the critical functional areas related to the lifecycle of a trade from the inception of the customer's order through the settlement, as well as the follow-up required for the effective management of failed trades.
- Distinguish types of operational risks that have a potential impact on the firm and their customers, in both the domestic and international arenas.
- Analyze the source of costs per trade and its relationship to trading profitability.
- Gain perspective on the relationship between the customer and the broker/dealer in the flow of post-execution activity.
For information on this training class, please email Elisa Nuottajarvi of SIFMA.
Important Publications:
SIFMA Update
Washington Weekly
Legal, Regulatory and Market Practices Action Line
Weekly Report of the American Securitization Forum
SIFMA SmartBrief (past five issues)