Portfolio accounting system and method for handling uncertainty in accounting information

• US 20060106715A1
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infonic AG
• Original Assignee: Thomas Furrer
• Inventors: Furrer, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,653,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

Portfolio accounting systems and methods are adapted to handle uncertainty in accounting information due to time delay in information issuance. Accounting information is represented by streams of sequenced simple transaction states, each individual state describing the state of an account or its changes as known at a certain point in time while the stream ties the consecutive states into a life cycle of the information improving over time. A first simple transaction state attribute corresponds to the traditional value date. A second attribute corresponds to a reporting date. A third attribute corresponds to the traditional account value or relative/absolute changes thereof.

Claims

1. A portfolio accounting system adapted to handle uncertainty in accounting information due to time delay in information issuance, wherein the accounting information is represented by streams of sequenced simple transaction states, each simple transaction state comprising at least four attributes, among which a first attribute corresponds to a value date, a second attribute corresponds to a reporting date, a third attribute corresponds to a value parameter and a fourth attribute is an account reference, said value date being a date said value parameter refers to and said reporting date being a date or time said value date and value parameter together with their account reference are entered into or are deemed to have become known to the portfolio accounting system, while each stream links all consecutive simple transaction states representing views of the same accounting information as known to the system over time.

2. Accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the value parameter corresponds to an absolute value of the account.

3. Accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the value parameter corresponds to an absolute change in a value of the account.

4. Accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the value parameter corresponds to a relative change in a value of the account.

5. Accounting system according to claim 1, wherein, in an information update mode, the reporting date corresponds to an actual date or time of entry of the simple transaction state into the accounting system, said date or time being automatically retrieved by the system from a central clock or entered by a user or supplied by another system.

6. Accounting system according to claim 1, wherein, in an information correction mode, a reporting date of a corrective simple transaction state corresponds to a reporting date of an original, corrected simple transaction state.

7. Accounting system according to claim 1, comprising means for entering said value parameter, value date and account reference, means for supplying or generating said reporting date and means for storing an simple transaction state comprising said value parameter, value date, reporting date and account reference.

8. Accounting system according to claim 1, comprising means for determining an absolute value of a predetermined account for a requested value date and by considering simple transaction states having a reporting date smaller than a requested reporting date.

9. Accounting system according to claim 8, wherein said means for determining the absolute value of a predetermined account comprise means for changing a value function upon or after entry of a simple transaction state which account reference refers to the predetermined account according to the value parameter of said simple transaction state.

10. Accounting system according to claim 9, further comprising means for storing said value function as a function of the value date and the reporting date.

11. Accounting system according to claim 1, comprising means for providing for at least one account a Balance Sheet for a given combination of any value date and reporting date, by reflecting a state of all simple transactions referring to corresponding accounts as of the given combination of value date and reporting date.

12. Accounting system according to claim 1, comprising means for providing for at least one account a Profit and Loss statement for any period between two value dates, with for each of these two value dates an individually selectable reporting date, by reflecting a transition of all simple transaction states referring to a same account between the two pairs of value date and reporting date.

13. Accounting system according to claim 12, comprising means for providing a consistent multi-period Profit/Loss statement for any sequence of consecutive sub-periods between two value dates, with each sub-period having it'"'"'s own reporting date for both its starting and ending value date, with the reporting date for the starting date of one sub-period being equal to the reporting date for the ending date of the preceding sub-period.

14. Accounting system according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing at least one of the following operations of a traditional accounting system:

(a) correction of accounting data item states for a given value date leading to intended non-reproducibility of corrected original information in affected balance sheets and Profit/Loss statements;

(b) entry of unchecked accounting information only impacting accounting if checked by a 2nd person.

15. Accounting system according to claim 1, comprising means for checking whether a simple transaction state or state sequencing fulfils predetermined rules corresponding to transaction business rules.

16. Accounting system according to claim 1, comprising means for grouping one or a multitude of simple transactions in a composite transaction affecting one or a multitude of accounts.

17. Accounting system according to claim 16, wherein a composite transaction state exists for each state of all the simple transactions grouped under said composite transaction.

18. Accounting system according to claim 17, comprising means for checking whether a composite transaction state or state sequencing fulfils predetermined rules corresponding to transaction business rules.

19. Accounting system according to claim 1, comprising means for defining and hard or soft enforcing business rules governing consistency of transactions regarding individual states or state sequencing, both at simple and composite transaction level.

20. Accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the system consistently manages and tracks the stream of transaction states both at simple and composite transaction level.

21. Accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the stream of transaction states, both on simple and composite transaction level is fully available at any time both for retrieval, navigation along the state sequence and entry/update and wherein all transaction states are available and treated equally both for retrieval and entry/update.

22. Accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the system is implemented on a computer.

41. Accounting system according to claim 14, wherein backtracking of any correction of a transaction state is achievable through use of an audit log.

42. Accounting system according to claim 14, wherein accounting information comprises balances and profit/loss statements.

43. Accounting system according to claim 20, wherein the system consistently manages and tracks the stream of transaction states for both information update and information correction operations.

23. Method for handling uncertainty in accounting information due to time delay in information issuance, comprising representing the accounting information by streams of sequenced simple transaction states, each simple transaction state comprising at least four attributes, among which a first attribute corresponds to a value date, a second attribute corresponds to a reporting date, a third attribute corresponds to a value parameter and a fourth attribute is an account reference, said value date being a date said value parameter refers to and said reporting date being a date said value date and value parameter together with their account reference are entered into or are deemed to have become known to the portfolio accounting system, while each stream links all consecutive simple transaction states representing views of the same accounting information as known to the system over time.

24. Method according to claim 23, further comprising automatically retrieving the reporting date from a central clock or entering the reporting date by an user or supplied the reporting date by another system, such that, in an information update mode, the reporting date corresponds to an actual date or time of entry of the simple transaction state into the accounting system.

25. Method according to claim 23, further comprising entering a corrective simple transaction state in an information correction mode, wherein a reporting date of the corrective simple transaction state corresponds to a reporting date of an original, corrected simple transaction state.

26. Method according to claim 23, further comprising entering a simple transaction state into an accounting system when new accounting information occurs, and storing said simple transaction state.

27. Method according to claim 23, further comprising determining an absolute value of a predetermined account for a requested value date by considering simple transaction states having a reporting date smaller than a requested reporting date.

28. Method according to claim 27, wherein said step of determining the absolute value of a predetermined account comprises changing a value function upon or after entry of a simple transaction state which account reference refers to the predetermined account according to the value parameter of said simple transaction state.

29. Method according to claim 28, further comprising storing said value function as a function of the value date and the reporting date.

30. Method according to claim 23, further comprising providing for at least one account a Balance Sheet for a given combination of any value date and reporting date, by reflecting a state of all simple transactions referring to corresponding accounts as of the given combination of value date and reporting date.

31. Method according to claim 23, further comprising providing for at least one account a Profit and Loss statement for any period between two value dates, with for each of these two value dates an individually selectable reporting date, by reflecting a transition of all simple transaction states referring to a same account between the two pairs of value date and reporting date.

32. Method according to claim 28, further comprising providing for at least one account a consistent multi-period Profit/Loss statement for any sequence of consecutive sub-periods between two value dates, with each sub-period having it'"'"'s own reporting date for both its starting and ending value date, with the reporting date for the starting date of one sub-period being equal to the reporting date for the ending date of the preceding sub-period.

33. Method according to claim 23, further comprising providing at least one of the following operations of a traditional accounting system:

(a) correction of accounting data item states for a given value date leading to changing balances and Profit/Loss statements;

(b) entry of unchecked accounting information only impacting accounting if checked by a 2nd person.

34. Method according to claim 23, further comprising checking whether a simple transaction state fulfils predetermined rules corresponding to transaction business rules.

35. Method according to claim 23, comprising grouping one or a multitude of simple transactions in a composite transaction affecting one or a multitude of accounts.

36. Method according to claim 35, comprising generating a composite transaction state for each state of all the simple transactions grouped under said composite transaction.

37. Method according to claim 36, comprising checking whether a composite transaction state or state sequencing fulfils predetermined rules corresponding to transaction business rules.

38. Method according to claim 23, comprising defining and hard or soft enforcing business rules governing consistency of transactions regarding individual states or state sequencing, both at simple and composite transaction level.

39. Method according to claim 23, comprising consistently managing and tracking the stream of transaction states both at simple and composite transaction level for both information update and information correction operations.

40. Method according to claim 23, comprising making fully available the stream of transaction states, both on simple and composite transaction level at any time both for retrieval, navigation along the state sequence and entry/update, wherein all transaction states are available and treated equally both for retrieval and entry/update.