Section 80. Financial statements and reports

A. All financial statements required for registration of broker-dealers shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, as promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

B. Definitions:

"Certified financial statements" means those financial statements examined and reported upon with an opinion expressed by an independent accountant and shall include at least the following information:

1. Date of report, manual signature, city and state where issued, and identification without detailed enumeration of the financial statements and schedules covered by the report;

2. Representations as to whether the audit was made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and designation of any auditing procedures deemed necessary by the accountant under the circumstances of the particular case which may have been omitted, and the reason for their omission; nothing in this section however shall be construed to imply authority for the omission of any procedure which independent accountants would ordinarily employ in the course of an audit for the purpose of expressing the opinions required under this section;

3. Statement of the opinion of the accountant in respect to the financial statements and schedules covered by the report and the accounting principles and practices reflected therein, and as the consistency of the application of the accounting principles, or as to any changes in such principles which would have a material effect on the financial statements;

4. Any matters to which the accountant takes exception shall be clearly identified, the exemption thereto specifically and clearly stated, and, to the extent practicable, the effect of each such exception on the related financial statements given.

"Financial statements" means those reports, schedules and statements, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and which contain at least the following information unless the context otherwise dictates:

1. Statement of Financial Condition or Balance Sheet;

2. Statement of Income;

3. Statement of Cash Flows;

4. Statement of Changes in Stockholder's/Partner's/Proprietor's/Member's Equity;

5. Statement of Changes in Liabilities Subordinated to Claims of General Creditors;

6. Schedule of the Computation of Net Capital Under Rule 15c3-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.15c3-1);

7. Schedule of the Computation for Determination of the Reserve Requirements under Exhibit A of Rule 15c3-3 and Information Relating to the Possession and Control Requirements under Rule 15c3-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.15c3-3).

"Independent accountant" means any certified public accountant in good standing and entitled to practice as such under the laws of the accountant's principal place of business or residence, and who is, in fact, not controlled by, or under common control with, the entity or person being audited.

1. For purposes of this definition, an accountant will be considered not independent with respect to any person or any of its parents, its subsidiaries, or other affiliates in which, during the period of the accountant's professional engagements to examine the financial statements being reported on the date of the report, the accountant or the firm or a member thereof had, or was committed to acquire, any direct financial interest or any material indirect financial interest; or in which, during the period of the accountant's professional engagements to examine the financial statements being reported on, at the date of the report or during the period covered by the financial statements, the accountant or the firm or a member thereof was connected as a promoter, underwriter, voting trustee, director, officer, or employee.

2. A firm will not be deemed not independent in regard to a particular person if a former officer or employee of such person is employed by the firm and such individual has completely disassociated himself from the person and its affiliates covering any period of employment by the person.

3. For partners in the firm participating in the audit or located in an office of the firm participating in a significant portion of the audit; and in determining whether an accountant may in fact be not independent with respect to a particular person, the commission will give appropriate consideration to all relevant circumstances, including evidence bearing on all relationships between the accountant and that person or any affiliate thereof, and will not confine itself to the relationships existing in connection with the filing of reports with the commission.

"Review of financial statements" means those financial statements reviewed by an independent accountant, and shall include at least the following:

1. Date of report, manual signature, city and state where issued, and identification without detailed enumeration of the financial statements and schedules covered by the report;

2. Representations that the review was performed in accordance with standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants;

3. Representations that the accountant is not aware of any material modification that should be made to the financial statements in order for them to be in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, other than those modifications, if any, indicated in the accountant's report.

"Unaudited financial statements" means those financial statements prepared in a format acceptable to the commission not accompanied by the statements and representations as set forth in the definitions of "certified financial statements" or "review of financial statements" of this subsection, and shall include an oath or affirmation that such statement or report is true and correct to the best knowledge, information, and belief of the person making such oath or affirmation. The oath or affirmation shall be made before a person authorized to administer the oath or affirmation, and shall be made by an officer of the entity for whom the financial statements were prepared.

C. Requirements for broker-dealers:

1. Every broker-dealer applicant subject to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 shall file with the commission at its Division of Securities and Retail Franchising upon its request any financial information required to be provided to the SEC, or its designee, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

2. All other broker-dealer applicants not subject to subdivision 1 of this subsection, unless exempted under subdivision 3 of this subsection, shall file financial statements as of a date within 90 days prior to the date of filing its application for registration. The statements need not be audited provided that the applicant shall also file audited financial statements as of the end of the most recent fiscal year end.

3. Those broker-dealer applicants in operation for a period of time less than 12 months, and for which audited financial statements have not been prepared or are not available, and are not registered with the SEC, a national securities association or a national securities exchange, shall be permitted to file financial statements reviewed by an independent accountant provided the following conditions are met:

a. The financial statements shall be as of a date within 30 days prior to the date of filing an application for registration; and

b. The financial statements shall be reviewed by an independent accountant as defined under subsection B of this section and in accordance with the definitions of "financial statements" and "review of financial statements" in subsection B and in accordance with subdivision 3 of this subsection.

Historical Notes

Derived from Rule 207, Case No. SEC810005, eff. July 1, 1981; amended by Case No. SEC840009, eff. October, 5, 1984; Case No. SEC890040, eff. July 1, 1989; Volume 13, Issue 25, eff. September 1, 1997; Volume 14, Issue 22, eff. July 1, 1998; Volume 17, Issue 20, eff. July 1, 2001; Volume 29, Issue 20, eff. June 3, 2013.

Statutory Authority

§§ 12.1-13 and 13.1-523 of the Code of Virginia.