Elite Financial Management Hedge Fund Accounting YOU RE STRAIGHTFORWARD SO ARE WE
Content About Us Value Propositions Services Fees Partners Account Managers Industry Affiliations 2 3 4 6 7 9 10
About Us The Hedge Fund Accounting Division of Elite Financial Management provides fund accounting services to newlylaunched or small, generally unregistered hedge funds that are looking for fast, efficient, high quality, reasonably priced fund accounting services. We have CPA licenses in the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Collectively, our dedicated personnel have over 50 years of financial services experience, including extensive hedge fund experience. We understand the needs of newly launched and small hedge fund managers, as well as their investors, and our goal is to help these hedge fund managers achieve lower costs, timely and accurate financial reporting, robust controls and the scale and leverage to grow in the current economic and regulatory environment. Our vision is to combine quality, experience and dedication to consistently deliver value added fund accounting services to our hedge fund clients. Our goal is that you find us easy to do business with. In that regard, we seek to always deliver simple, straightforward fund accounting services. We are committed to the operational effectiveness of all our hedge fund clients because we believe that is also a pathway to financial success and stability. Our business model gives us the flexibility to tailor our offerings to meet the specific needs of each hedge fund client and allows us to focus on what s important to them. Selecting a hedge fund accounting service provider is an important decision. You want an experienced company that is big enough to serve all your fund accounting needs, yet can also provide you with individual attention and answer all of your questions. That is what we do. We focus on your back office operations so you can focus on making money for your investors. Our office combines a wide range of hedge fund accounting services with a client-centered philosophy. In this brochure, we'll provide information about our company and describe the different services we offer. We hope you'll find the information you need, and we look forward to working with you. 2
Value Propositions Here s why working with Elite Financial Management is right for you: 1. You are straightforward.so are we. Some of our competitors are great at providing over-priced, bundled services that are not important to you. Other competitors charge you based on their rankings. Our services are disaggregated. You only pay for what you need. 2. We are experts in the hedge fund industry. We were once hedge fund auditors. We know what your auditors and regulators are looking for. We have deep expertise in understanding hedge fund accounting, including valuation, and have actively liaised with the SEC and other regulators. Our lead partner was a member of the AICPA Investment Company Expert Panel and is active in hedge fund conferences (SALT, GAIM, ALphametrix, HFA, MARHedge, Hedge Fund Cares). We have strong long-standing relationships with lawyers, administrators, prime brokers and auditors. 3. People where it matters. Technology where it counts. Our service model is people driven. Our personnel understand securities and capital markets transactions (fixed income, equities and derivatives) as well as the related operational infrastructure. We leverage technology in efficiently obtaining information from your prime brokers and other service providers; creating tailored financial reporting; and in communicating financial data back to you. 4. We are value driven because you are. We believe that start up and small hedge fund managers should not pay an arm and a leg for basic fund accounting service. The Government gave you a break from registration. We give you a break on fees. 5. We've been a start-up too so we understand your needs. As we desired for ourselves when we were a start-up firm, our goal is to see you grow. To that end, we will provide you with the right information at the right time at the right price to help you achieve your growth goals. 6. Efficient client-focused service model. Our service model is based on keeping things simple and on providing you with accurate and quick turn-around time for all your and your investors requests. 3
Services With a single-minded focus on the operational effectiveness and economic success of our clients, we afford start up and small hedge fund managers the ability to focus on what they do best: optimize their core hedge fund offerings, while we deliver capable, affordable back office fund accounting services, without the headaches associated with finding the right in-house accountant, training, dealing with increasing salary and benefit costs as well as turnover issues. No minimums, no break-even calculations, no additional overhead. We are a one-stop shop that offers a wide range of hedge fund accounting services, including: Start-up Consultation Evaluation of initial partnership agreement / offering memoranda for fatal flaws as well as benchmarking your documents to industry standard Consultation on fund structure selection, registration implications, and operational issues Establish budget, payroll for staff (if applicable) Establish operational, investment and accounting policies Establish bank and brokerage accounts Accounting Advisory Budgeting / cash flow management Expense review / management Service offering expansion Bookkeeping Accounts receivables Accounts payable Daily bookkeeping tasks Partner allocation schedule Management and incentive fee calculations Tax Services Income tax preparation for the fund (1065) and partners/ management (K-1s) Electronic filing of Form 1065 IRS representation Quarterly tax estimates for investors and management Management Reporting Monitor compliance with regulations, accounting policies and investment guidelines Prepare monthly accounting package (balance sheet, P&L, and ad-hoc reports) 4
Services (Cont d) Audit Coordination Provide year-end working papers to external auditors and respond to questions. Work papers include balance sheet, P&L, management and incentive fee calculations, partnerallocation schedule, expense support statements, access to invoices and prime brokerage statements Prepare year-end financial statements and footnotes Prepare ASC 820 disclosure support Treasury Bank account reconciliations Brokerage account reconciliations Contribution / withdrawal reconciliation to custodian / prime brokerage accounts Wire transfer management Cash transfer management (inter-account / inter-bank) Vendor management Payroll Ancillary 940 & 941 preparation and filing Employee set up/removal from Payroll Payroll account funding Bi-weekly / monthly payroll preparation Payroll disbursements Prepare ad-hoc reports for management, external auditor, regulators and investors, as requested Respond to investor inquiries Review subscription and redemption documents Prepare monthly accounting package for management review Financial Statements Preparation (stand-alone service) Prepare financial statements and footnotes and related ASC 820 schedule in accordance with GAAP Coordinate changes with external auditors 5
Fees In keeping with our goal of being easy to do business with, we offer all our hedge fund clients a flat fee structure that is billed in equal installments each month. The flat fee is negotiated with our clients. In this regard, there are no surprises. You ve worked hard for your money. Our goal is to help you to grow your assets not deplete them from escalating, nebulous service fees. Typical ranges of flat fee structures are as follows: Start-up consultation o Free Accounting Advisory o Initial consultation is free o $1,000 to $2,000 per executed transaction Bookkeeping o $2,500 to $4,500 per month Tax Services o $2,500 to $5,500 for 1065 Return & K-1s (up to 15 investors). $50 per additional investor $750 for quarterly estimates (management and investors) o Management Reporting o Free (included in bookkeeping fee) Audit Coordination o Free (included in bookkeeping fee) Treasury o Free (included in bookkeeping fee) Payroll o $350 per month Ancillary o Free (included in bookkeeping fee) Financial statements preparation (stand alone service) o $2,000 to $4,500 per fund 6
Partner Winston W. Wilson, CPA, M.S., MBA Experience Winston is a CPA with over 23 years of experience serving large and medium sized financial services companies, including a wide variety of hedge funds with variegated investment strategies. His Public Accounting experience includes PricewaterhouseCoopers and Grant Thornton LLP, where he was the Partner-In-Charge of the Financial Services Practice in New York and the National Asset Management Sector Leader. Winston has also worked for large Investment Banking firms, including Credit Suisse First Boston, where he was a Vice President and Brown Brothers Harriman, where he was an Assistant Vice President. Winston has also worked for Chase Manhattan Bank. Professional qualifications/ memberships AICPA Investment Company Expert Panel MFA Strategic Partners Advisory Committee AICPA - American Institute of Certified Public Accountants NYSSCPA - New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants Hedge Funds Cares Education NYU University (Stern) MBA in finance and marketing Brooklyn College - MS in economics (summa cum laude) Brooklyn College - BS in accounting (summa cum laude) Contact details 24 Commerce Street, Suite 1002 Newark, NJ, 07102 T: 862.772.1805 F: 862.772.1820 E: wwilson@elite-fm.net 7
Partner Sharon Benjamin, B.S. Experience Sharon is the founder of Elite Financial Management, which has been in existence for over 13 years. Sharon has worked for and served clients both in the Northeast as well as the West Coast. Sharon has over 22 years of experience serving various large and medium sized financial services companies, including hedge funds. Sharon s experience includes working for Philpott, Bills & Stoll, a top Business Management and CPA firm. Sharon also worked for Provident Financial Management. Industry Experience Sharon s industry experience includes all areas of hedge fund accounting. Her industry expertise also includes media entertainment as well as small to mid-sized private financial services companies. Sharon s industry experience also includes extensive IRS representation on behalf of clients, contract negotiation and royalty audits. Education Iona College BS in business management and accounting Contact details 24 Commerce Street, Suite 1002 Newark, NJ, 07102 T: 862.772.1805 F: 862.772.1820 E: sbenjamin@elite-fm.net 8
Account Managers Our knowledgeable account managers are available to answer your questions and provide you with quality service. Cindy Alfaro Account Manager 24 Commerce Street Suite 1002 Newark, NJ 07102 t 862 772 1805 f 862 772 1820 calfaro@elite-fm.net 9
Industry Affiliations Over the years we have participated in: GAIM USA 10
HEDGE FUND ACCOUNTING 24 Commerce Street Suite 1002 Newark, NJ, 07102 T: 862.772.1805 F: 862.772.1820 Website: www.elite-fm.net