Your firm’s Financial and Operations Principal
(FINOP) should do more than file your broker=dealer's FOCUS reports. At
Intersource, we believe the FINOP should be a financial expert in the
securities industry, with the requisite FINRA licensure and regulatory
experience, and serve as the comprehensive accounting source for your
overall business.
Intersource will provide your broker-dealer
with a registered Series 27 Remote FINOP, who will manage the financial
operations of your firm as its CFO through a secure, on-line general
ledger interface. Our efficient methodologies will add to your firm's
bottom line by avoiding the need to hire senior level in-house
accountants, and by performing the in-depth analysis necessary to drive
overall profitability.
Intersource customizes its financial consulting
services to the specifications of your firm's needs and expectations. If
you have qualified accounting personnel maintaining the required
financial books & records on an ongoing basis, we will utilize that
data to continously assess net capital through our secure platform in
order to supervise your financial operations.
If your firm seeks
more comprehensive services, Intersource has the scope to prepare your
annual or quartelry financial statements, or even to maintain your
general ledger on a daily basis. Our goal is to make your FINOP an
invaluable resource, not solely a cost-effective gap filler.
Our Finop team is led by Ernie Kappotis -
Education:
Boston College - Ranked 22nd Nationally by Forbes
Carroll School of Management; Bachelor of Science - May of 2001
Double Major: Accounting and Finance; Overall GPA: 3.63 (Magna cum Laude)
Professional Experience:
6/2016 – Present: Curwen Capital LLC – Greater Boston President / FINOP:
Curwen Capital LLC is a financial services consulting firm specializing in net capital compliance, financial reporting services, and cybersecurity solutions for your broker-dealer or registered investment advisory firm (“RIA”).
Ernie Kappotis represents the financial condition of broker-dealers & RIAs during regulatory examinations and inquiries, acting as his clients’ Remote CFO.
Mr. Kappotis also provides Expense-Sharing and general compliance services for broker-dealers & RIA.
4/2015 – 6/2016: Regulatory Compliance, LLC – Londonderry, NH Manager of Financial Services:
Manages a national team of 10 Financial and Operations Principals ("FINOPs") of broker-dealer clients throughout the United States.
Reviews and technically verifies clients’ Monthly Net Capital computations and Monthly/Quarterly SEC FOCUS reports.
Ensures that FINOPs maintain all required information in accordance with the company's internal Standard Operating Procedures requirements, which I formalized.
Resolves all review points or questions and verifies completion and accuracy of file prior to submission of reports to FINRA*.
Ensures that all clients’ Financial Reporting and Net Capital Computation deadlines are met.
Works directly with clients, FINOPs and clients’ outside auditors in the preparation and submission of Annual Audited Financial Statements.
Coordinates and assists FINOPs and clients’ accounting personnel with compiling documents, and/or conducting analysis for FINRA/SEC exams or document requests.
Provides subject matter expertise to clients in the SEC Financial Responsibility, Net Capital and Customer Protection Rules.
Enhanced the company's system of conducting On-Site Annual FINOP Inspections for its clients.
Financial Operations Principal ("FINOP") - 11/2015 - Present
Serves 3 clients as FINOP – the registered Series-27 Financial Principal for each of those broker-dealers.
Cybersecurity Coordinator - 11/2015 – 6/2016
Program Development Manager for Regulatory Compliance's new Cybersecurity Services department.
Coordinated and participated in tri-party Independent Cybersecurity Assessments for registered investment advisers, pursuant to the SEC's Cybersecurity OCIE Alert from 9/15/2015.
5/2011 – 4/2015: FINRA (The "Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) – Boston, MA
Compliance Examiner:
Examined Broker-Dealers for regulatory compliance throughout the United States and Canada.
Specialized in Financial Examinations including Net Capital Computations, Testing of Internal Financial Controls, Verification of Allowable Assets, Customer Funds Protection, and Evaluation of Revenue Recognition and Expense-Sharing Agreements/Expense Allocation measurements.
Tested accuracy and fairness of transactions for Commissions/Concessions/Fees paid by Customers.
Conducted Investigations of Individual Registered Representatives and Firms regarding formal allegations of customer harm or significant rule violations.
Interviewed financial witnesses for court proceedings in order to obtain investigative evidence.
Evaluated the Suitability of Customer transactions based on Customer Risk Profile, Investment Objective(s), and Investors Time Horizon.
Conducted regulatory compliance reviews of Broker-Dealer’s Advertising/Websites.
Mitigated conflicts of interest by assessing relationships between Broker-Dealers and affiliates.
Inspected the Firm’s Anti-Money Laundering Procedures and Independent Test Results.
Confirmed that Broker-Dealer’s Supervisory Procedures have been consistently implemented and adequately address the Firm’s business lines and include effective internal controls.
4/2007 – 4/2011: Detwiler Fenton Group, Inc. - Boston, MA Controller/FINOP:
Reported directly to CFO, managed Staff Accountants and college interns.
Prepared annual audited financial statements and footnotes for the firm and its individual subsidiaries.
Managed the annual independent audit process, fulfilled auditor requests, providing financial reports/schedules, and explained calculations/entries to auditors.
Prepared hedge fund financial statements and audited investor statements.
Monitored hedge fund margin and consistently met with Portfolio Manager to discuss operations.
Developed and maintained financial models and projections to effectively evaluate firm initiatives.
Led monthly financial statement closing process.
Prepared monthly operating results, including balance sheet, income statements, equity/stock options reporting, statement of changes and financial schedules supporting assets and liabilities.
Solved complex variable & deferred compensation formulas in order to pay the research analysts and institutional sales team.
Prepared and submitted the firm’s monthly FINRA*-required FOCUS net capital reports.
Devised allocations for expense-sharing agreements, to comply with SEC expense-sharing provisions.
Regularly answered net capital inquiries from FINRA coordinators.
Provided and explained net capital responses to FINRA examiners during regulatory examinations.
Managed cash and corporate brokerage accounts.
Maintained cash balances and evaluated bank-offered interest rates/promotions at custodial bank.
Designed internal control procedures to safeguard assets and investments.
Private placement and proprietary trading accounting responsibilities
Oversaw marketable and non-marketable investments valuation responsibilities.
Monitored corporate insurance programs (Errors/Omissions, Directors/Officers, Fidelity Bond, etc.) and negotiated with outside insurance advisors.
Performed Anti-Money Laundering audit functions in Boston and for the Firm and its subsidiaries.
Responsible for Firm’s SEC-required Records Retention Program
Assisted the CFO with the preparation of Board of Directors’ Presentations.
5/2004 – 7/2006: Investors Capital Corporation - Lynnfield, MA Corporate Accountant:
Worked with the Assistant Controller in preparing this publicly-traded broker-dealer’s Forms 10-K/10-Q.
Prepared monthly executive management reports that included an analytical summary of financial performance, revenue and expense projections, and division-based profit and loss statements.
Reconciled all liability accounts as part of the firm’s month-end financial statement closing procedures.
Managed Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Staff Accountants.
Assisted in the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley internal controls.
6/2000 – 4/2002: KPMG LLP - Boston, MA
Public Accountant, followed by Summer Internship:
Served on audit engagement teams for several New England clients including Polaroid and Velcro.
Memberships:
Boston College Club 5/2001 - Present
The
Boston College Club is an approved membership-only, social networking
& alumni club, located in the heart of Boston's financial district.
Mensa
Mensa
is a global High-IQ society for individuals with a scored IQ
measurement of 132 or higher. Only 2% of the world's population possess
IQ measurements in this subset.