Outside FINRA offices in New York. (Photo: Ronald Pechtimaldjian/ALM)
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is updating its electronic filing system to incorporate new amendments for reported income issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC amendments allow for new simplified reporting requirements for brokers and dealers as well as changing annual audit requirements under the electronic Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single system, or eFOCUS.
FINRA said in its Regulatory Notice 18-38 that the new annual audit requirements apply to annual audit reports due for fiscal years ending in January 2019 and after.
The compliance date parameters were explained after the SEC Division of Trading and Markets staff stated in an Oct. 29 no-action relief letter it would not recommend enforcement action if broker-dealers continue to file the FOCUS Report without the new SEC amendments for reporting periods ending on or before Dec. 31, 2018.
The SEC no-action position doesn't apply to FOCUS Reports and annual reports covering reporting periods ending after Dec. 31, 2018, the SEC staff noted in the letter.
