The sales department focuses on specific businesses, while the headquarters focuses on businesses such as settlement. Generally, the requirements of the headquarters will be higher. Personally, I don’t think working as an accountant in a futures company is a good choice.

The following information is for reference:

Article 47 of the "Administrative Measures for Futures Companies" stipulates that futures companies shall implement unified settlement and unified risk management of their business departments in accordance with the provisions of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Management, unified fund allocation, unified financial management and accounting, and established a standardized and complete sales department job responsibility system and business operating procedures (referred to as the "four unifications" for the sales department).

The above regulations require futures companies to implement "four unifications" for their business departments "in accordance with the regulations of the China Securities Regulatory Commission". However, since the implementation of this measure on April 15, 2007, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has not yet implemented how to deal with There are no relevant regulations for the implementation of the "four unifications" management of the business department, which makes futures companies confused about how to manage the business department, and there is no clear basis for how the regulatory authorities should conduct supervision.

The interpretation of "unification" in the modern "Cihai" is "to make it into one; to be consistent; to have no bifurcation; to have no difference." So, how should we understand the "four unifications" of the sales department? How should this be done? Combined with actual work, the author will talk about his understanding of the "four unifications" of the sales department, hoping to serve as a starting point.

Understanding of the unified settlement implemented by the sales department

At present, the futures industry generally adopts the secondary settlement model, that is, the futures exchange settles the futures company, and the futures company then settles the customer. The settlement work carried out by futures companies is handled by their relevant settlement departments, that is, settlement is carried out by customer in the unified transaction settlement system. After settlement, the relevant settlement results are sent to the business department and China Margin Monitoring Center. Customers can log in to the China Margin Monitoring Center. Check its transaction records on the website. The sales department only passively accepts the settlement results. In this sense, there is no settlement work for the sales department, let alone management of its settlement work. It is more appropriate to implement unified settlement for the sales department than to implement unified settlement for customers. From a broad settlement perspective, unified settlement should also include unified handling of delivery and pledge business by the headquarters of futures companies, and unified handling of reconciliations with futures exchanges.

Understanding of unified risk management in business departments

In order to strengthen risk control, most futures companies currently have specific departments responsible for risk control work, and formulate unified risk control systems and establish It includes a three-level risk control system including leaders in charge, risk control departments, and sales departments, and clarifies the division of responsibilities and business processes at each level.

The risk control personnel of the business department are under the management of the risk control department and are specifically responsible for front-line risk monitoring. They are directly responsible for contacting customers with higher risk rates, and are responsible for notifying customers to increase margins as required in a timely manner. If necessary, they can Take forced liquidation measures. Full-time personnel of the risk control department are responsible for implementing forced liquidation of customers who fail to make timely margin calls within the specified time to avoid losses to the futures company. Major risk control matters will be handled after approval by the leader in charge.

In order to do a good job in risk control, futures companies must sort out and classify customers according to risk levels, and adopt different control methods for customers with different risk levels. Full-time risk control personnel must be proficient in their work, respond quickly, operate accurately, and provide timely feedback. From the above analysis, it can be seen that the unified risk control work can be understood as: under the unified risk control system of futures companies, establish a hierarchical risk control system, perform their respective responsibilities according to the division of labor, and effectively prevent various risks that may cause futures companies. Risks include market risk, information system risk, credit risk, personnel risk and new business risk, etc.

For risk control of IB business customers, specific risk control measures shall be implemented by the risk control department of the futures company, and personnel of the IB Securities Business Department shall not be authorized to handle it.

Understanding of unified fund allocation by the business department

The funds of the business department include client funds and self-owned funds, which are respectively deposited in the margin deposit account to be opened by the business department and the in its own capital account.

For self-owned funds, the business department, as an independent operating entity, needs to carry out business activities independently, conduct accounting and pay taxes independently, which requires a certain amount of working capital, which is provided by the futures company. The headquarters is allocated to the sales department according to certain standards, and the sales department manages and controls according to the provisions of the futures company's financial system. In this sense, unified fund allocation refers to the allocation of funds between the headquarters and the business department in accordance with the financial system of the futures company, instead of the headquarters handling the payments that should be paid directly by the business department, and the business department paying the money based on its actual needs. Do it yourself.

As for customer funds, most customers currently handle deposits and withdrawals through the centralized bank-futures transfer system. This method is handled through a bank account at the futures company headquarters, achieving the effect of instant concentration of funds. However, it increases the accounting workload because a sum of funds needs to be recorded separately in the headquarters and sales department. For deposits through remittance, some futures companies handle it through the headquarters, and some handle it through the sales department. However, from the perspective of strengthening control, most futures companies do not allow the sales department to handle customer withdrawals on their own, and the futures company Centralized processing at the headquarters.

From the perspective of facilitating customers, responding to emergencies, reducing remittance costs, and simplifying accounting, it should be feasible for the sales department to directly handle withdrawals. As for the "unified fund allocation" stipulated in the measures, it is unknown whether this method is allowed.

Understanding of unified financial management and accounting of the sales department

1. How to realize unified financial management of the sales department

To realize the unified financial management of the sales department To unify financial management, first of all, futures companies must formulate a unified financial management system, and secondly, the headquarters and sales departments must strictly implement it, and there must be no inconsistency in government orders. Financial management includes fund management, asset management, tax management, financial personnel management, budget management, performance appraisal, etc.

The business department must carry out financial management work in accordance with the financial system formulated by the futures company, and it must be clear that the business department is both an operating entity and a financial management entity. The person in charge of the sales department shall be responsible for the accounting work of the sales department. The person in charge of the business department must attach great importance to the management of financial seals and bank keys, and allocate management authority based on the principle of mutual restraint to ensure the safety of the company's funds. The person in charge of the business department must have the awareness to accept supervision and correctly handle the relationship between business operations and financial supervision.

The financial department and audit department of the futures company headquarters must regularly inspect and supervise the business department to ensure that the financial system is effectively implemented.

2. How to achieve unified accounting for business departments

Different futures companies have different understandings and practices on how to conduct unified accounting.

The first method: the futures company integrates the headquarters and the sales department into one set of accounts for accounting. The sales department performs accounting as an internal department and is not an independent accounting entity. When a report from the sales department is needed, it will be based on relevant Compilation of operating and financial data.

The second method: the futures company regards the sales department as an independent accounting entity, but the accounting work is centralized and handled uniformly at the headquarters. The sales department only retains a small amount of reserve funds and reports accounts regularly. Since the sales department and the headquarters work in different locations, document delivery is time-consuming and laborious.

The third method: the futures company treats the sales department as an independent accounting entity and conducts accounting according to a unified accounting system. The sales department arranges a financial person on site to be specifically responsible for the management of relevant financial matters. In order to handle the work, the financial staff of the headquarters can conduct remote review and supervision through online office to ensure the quality of accounting work. This can closely link the operation management and financial management of the sales department, which is more conducive to the management of the sales department. Of course, for a business department with a large scale of operations and a large amount of accounting, it can be equipped with an accountant and a cashier to implement an internal control mechanism of handling and review on site at the business department.

The author believes that both the second and third methods can be said to have achieved "unified accounting", but from the perspective of management effects, the third method is better.

The essence of the "four unifications" for the sales department is to manage the sales department according to unified requirements and maintain the "consistency" of the system for the management of all sales departments. As the background of the "Four Unifications" of the sales department has changed over time, many aspects such as customer notification methods, deposit and withdrawal methods, and the business scale of the sales department have undergone great changes. Therefore, the futures industry is in a good situation for the healthy development of the futures industry. Next, it is recommended that relevant departments take advantage of the situation to clarify the requirements and standards for the "four unifications" of the sales department.