FAAR℠ services and tools are designed to make a difference...in a significant and positive way. To do so, they result from processes that are well thought-out and controlled. The range of specific services offered a prospective client is dependent upon the type of entity to account for or to be reported upon, the needs of the client, and FAAR℠'s capabilities with respect to that particular set of circumstances.
For Investment Funds:
First among FAAR℠’s services are the Specialty Core Services and Tools offered for investment funds*. These Specialty Core Services and Tools are described as follows:
1a) Compilation of financial analyses that
- Describe the financial impacts of events and transactions and the financial condition that resulted
- Explain how rates-of-return was affected by events and transactions (aka rate-of-return attribution)
- Breakdown a fund’s investment portfolio in accordance with a variety of risk profiles as one or more reporting dates
- Explain many balance sheet balances and P&L amounts by their basic quantity, unit rate and duration metrics. Examples include –
- Management Fees Expense explained by Average Fee Base, by Fee Rate(s), by Number of Days Under Management
- Interest Receivable explained by Average Face, by Average Coupon Rate, by Average Days Outstanding, by FX Rate
- Explain changes in balance sheet balances and amounts by that portion of the change which was driven by a change in quantity versus that portion that was driven by a change in unit rates versus that portion that was driven by a change in duration
[Change analyses (Vs prior periods) report variances by quantity & rate drivers to answer the simple question: “How much of the change is from having used/invested more (less) & how much is due to paying/earning at a higher (lower) rate?”] - Describe changes in an investment portfolio in terms of buy/hold/sell trading activities, revaluations, corporate actions, and adjustments and attributing such changes to their impacts on the fund's rates-of-return
1b) Ad-Hoc Reporting Tools that effortlessly and in short order
- Breakdown an investment portfolio in accordance with a variety of risk profiles (e.g., asset class, industry, geography, currency) as of one or more reporting dates
- Describe changes in a fund’s investment portfolio during a reporting period in terms of buy/hold/sell trading activities, revaluations, corporate actions, and adjustments and attributing such changes to their impacts on the fund's rates-of-return
- Analyze the drivers of rates-of-return for ad-hoc reporting periods (at the level of the fund, the investor, or the share-class) in terms of trading activities and income & appreciation/depreciation
2) Compilation of financial statements for investment funds prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles or some other comprehensive basis of reporting
* Specialty Core Services and Tools are available for investment companies structured as simple stand-alone entities; as part of master-feeder entities; as entities that consolidate, or are consolidated by, other entities; and as entities part of a fund-of-fund structure.
For Investment and Development Projects:
Compilation of financial models that
1) Generate pro-forma financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, owners' equity, cash flow statement)
2) Calculate a return on investment
3) Report sensitivity of project ROR or IRR to changes to key input variables (What-If Analysis)
For Companies involved in investment management or project development:
1) Record-keeping and accounting
2) Financial statement compilation (balance sheet, income statement, owners' equity, cash flow statement)
3) Budgeting, forecasting, and cash management
4) Payroll processing
5) Financial analysis
- Describe the financial impacts of events and transactions and the financial condition that resulted
- Explain how the Company’s results of operations were affected by events and transactions
- Break-out many balance sheet balances and P&L amounts into their underlying components. For P&L amounts, this break-out can be executed by nature or by function
- Where applicable, explain many balance sheet balances and P&L amounts of the Company by their basic quantity, unit rate and duration metrics. Examples include –
- Management Fees Revenues (for a particular fund or for an aggregate of funds) explained by Average Fee Base, by Fee Rate(s), by Number of Days Under Management
- Consulting revenue explained by Hours Consulted and by Billing Rate
- Explain changes in balance sheet balances and amounts by that portion of the change which was driven by a change in quantity versus that portion that was driven by a change in unit rates versus that portion that was driven by a change in duration
[Change analyses (Vs prior periods or Vs Budget/Forecast) report variances by quantity, rate or mix drivers to answer the simple question: “How much of the variance is from having "sold"more (less)/having a greater (smaller) fee base? How much of the change is due to earning at a higher (lower) rate? And different Billing Rates/Fee Rates exist, how much of the change is due to the change in mix?”]