Quick Answer
The Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single (FOCUS) report gives the Commission a broker-dealer's regulatory financial and operational information. It carries the firm's statement of financial condition and its regulatory computations. It reports on the firm, not on any one customer's account.
With the FINOP's oversight role established, the FOCUS report is the reporting vehicle for the firm's regulatory financial information.
What Does the FOCUS Report Communicate?
The Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single (FOCUS) report is Form X-17A-5, the firm's own financial and operational report to the Commission.
- It carries the firm's statement of financial condition and its operational financial information.
- Its parts also carry the firm's regulatory computations, including the net-capital computation and the customer-reserve computation.
- It reports on the firm. It is not a report about any one customer's account.
How Does It Differ From a Customer Account Statement?
| Item | Primary purpose |
|---|---|
| FOCUS report | Regulatory financial and operational reporting for the broker-dealer |
| Customer account statement | Information about an individual customer's account |
Firm financial information → FOCUS report → regulatory reporting obligation
Exam Tip: Gotchas
- The FOCUS report concerns the broker-dealer's regulatory financial information. A customer account statement serves a different purpose and is not a substitute for the report.
- Firm-level and customer-level reporting do not substitute for each other. A firm that files its FOCUS report on time still owes each customer the customer's own account statement.
What Should You Check on Exam Day?
- Treat the FOCUS report as firm-level regulatory reporting.
- Connect it with financial condition, regulatory calculations, and operational financial information.
- Identify the Commission as the filing recipient.
- Do not confuse it with an individual customer's statement.