Fund Accountant Course

Lesson 1 • The Fund Accountant's Daily Responsibilities

Outlines daily, monthly, and annual tasks including NAV calculation, reconciliation, and reporting. Sets realistic job expectations for new practitioners.

Lesson 2 • Investment Fund Structures and Types

Covers mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity, and ETFs with their structural differences. Establishes the landscape fund accountants operate within.

Lesson 3 • Key Stakeholders and Service Providers

Identifies fund managers, administrators, custodians, auditors, and transfer agents. Clarifies how each party interacts with the fund accountant.

Lesson 4 • Core Accounting Principles for Funds

Applies accrual accounting, fair value measurement, and fund-specific GAAP concepts. Provides the accounting language used throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Derivatives: Futures, Options, and Swaps

Introduces exchange-traded and OTC derivatives, their valuation inputs, and margin requirements. Prepares students for derivative accounting entries covered in Chapter 4.

Lesson 2 • Fixed Income Instruments

Examines government bonds, corporate bonds, and money market instruments with their pricing mechanics. Establishes accrued interest and amortization concepts used in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • Equity Securities: Classification and Accounting

Covers common and preferred stock, ADRs, and equity classification under accounting standards. Connects instrument features to balance sheet presentation.

Lesson 4 • Alternative and Illiquid Investments

Addresses private equity interests, real assets, and Level 3 fair value assets. Highlights valuation challenges unique to illiquid holdings.

Lesson 1 • NAV Error Detection and Correction

Identifies common NAV errors, materiality thresholds, and restatement procedures. Prepares students to manage errors professionally and communicate with stakeholders.

Lesson 2 • Income and Expense Accruals in NAV

Applies dividend, interest, and fee accruals to the NAV calculation. Demonstrates how accrual timing affects per-share value and investor fairness.

Lesson 3 • NAV for Different Fund Structures

Adapts the NAV process for mutual funds, hedge funds, and fund-of-funds structures. Highlights structural differences that alter calculation steps.

Lesson 4 • Security Pricing and Valuation Inputs

Covers pricing sources, fair value overrides, and stale price identification. Ensures students can validate and challenge pricing data before NAV finalization.

Lesson 1 • Journal Entries for Equity Transactions

Records purchases, sales, dividends, and corporate actions using double-entry bookkeeping. Builds the foundational journal entry skills applied to all asset classes.

Lesson 2 • Journal Entries for Fixed Income Transactions

Applies accrued interest, amortization, and maturity entries to bond accounting. Reinforces fixed income concepts from Chapter 2 with practical bookkeeping.

Lesson 3 • Trade Lifecycle from Execution to Settlement

Traces a trade from order execution through confirmation, clearing, and settlement. Establishes the operational context for all accounting entries.

Lesson 4 • Reconciliation and Break Resolution

Compares internal records to custodian and prime broker statements to identify and resolve breaks. Develops the investigative skills essential to daily fund accounting.

Lesson 1 • Subscription and Redemption Processing

Covers investor onboarding, subscription document review, and redemption notice handling. Establishes the operational flow that drives capital account changes.

Lesson 2 • Distribution and Dividend Processing

Calculates and records income distributions, dividend reinvestment, and return-of-capital payments. Connects income accounting to investor-level tax and reporting obligations.

Lesson 3 • Capital Account Maintenance

Records contributions, withdrawals, income allocations, and fee charges to investor capital accounts. Provides the ledger skills needed for partnership and hedge fund structures.

Lesson 4 • Investor Reporting and Statements

Produces account statements, transaction confirmations, and tax reporting documents for investors. Demonstrates how capital account data translates into investor-facing deliverables.

Lesson 1 • Fund Operating Expense Allocation

Allocates administration, custody, audit, and legal expenses across share classes and series. Ensures accurate expense presentation in financial statements and NAV.

Lesson 2 • Management Fee Structures and Calculation

Covers AUM-based, tiered, and flat management fee structures with daily accrual methods. Establishes fee calculation as a core recurring task in fund accounting.

Lesson 3 • Performance and Incentive Fee Calculation

Applies high-water mark, hurdle rate, and crystallization concepts to incentive fee computation. Addresses the most complex fee calculations encountered in hedge fund accounting.

Lesson 4 • Performance Attribution and Risk Metrics

Decomposes returns by asset class, sector, and security selection using attribution frameworks. Introduces risk-adjusted metrics used in investor and board reporting.

Lesson 1 • Fund Balance Sheet Construction

Builds the statement of assets and liabilities with proper classification and disclosure. Applies instrument and NAV knowledge from prior chapters to formal financial presentation.

Lesson 2 • Regulatory and Investor Reporting Packages

Assembles periodic regulatory filings and investor report packages from completed financial statements. Prepares students for the final delivery stage of the reporting cycle.

Lesson 3 • Statement of Changes in Net Assets

Reconciles opening and closing net assets through operations, subscriptions, and distributions. Links investor capital activity to the overall fund financial position.

Lesson 4 • Statement of Operations

Constructs the income statement showing investment income, expenses, and realized and unrealized gains. Demonstrates how trading activity flows into periodic performance reporting.

Lesson 1 • Annual Audit Process Management

Guides students through audit planning, evidence preparation, and auditor communication. Builds the skills needed to manage the audit relationship and resolve queries efficiently.

Lesson 2 • Internal Controls in Fund Accounting

Establishes segregation of duties, authorization controls, and reconciliation controls for fund operations. Provides the control framework that underpins audit readiness.

Lesson 3 • Fund Accounting System Operations

Covers general ledger system setup, chart of accounts design, and automated feed management. Prepares students to operate and troubleshoot fund accounting platforms.

Lesson 4 • Operational Risk and Business Continuity

Identifies key operational risks in fund accounting and designs mitigation and recovery procedures. Prepares students to maintain fund operations during disruptions.