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Audit & Controls

Robust controls for traceability, auditing, and support of internal and external reviews.

Automated Exception Closure Controls: Prevents unauthorized closure of reconciliation breaks.
Change Management Logs: Tracks any changes to data, configuration, or user roles.
Data Integrity Monitoring: Continuously monitors and alerts for data corruption or loss.
Immutable Audit Trail: All user actions are tracked and cannot be altered retroactively.
Periodic Certification Checks: Supports regular review and sign-off of reconciliations or exceptions.
Reporting of Audit Events: Generates reports specifically on audit and control events.
Retention of Evidence: Enforces retention of evidence and supporting documentation for defined periods.
SOX/ISAE 3402 Support: Provides controls to support Sarbanes-Oxley or ISAE 3402 compliance.
Time-stamped Activity Logs: Every action is time-stamped for traceability.
User Action Replay: Ability to replay sequences of user actions for detailed investigation.

Data Integration & Connectivity

Features that determine how the reconciliation software connects to and ingests data from various sources relevant to brokerage operations.

API Connectivity: Supports connections via APIs for automated data transfer.
Automatic Data Validation: Automatically validates imported data for completeness and correctness.
Cloud/Data Lake Integration: Supports integration with cloud storage or data lake platforms.
Data Format Support: Number of different supported data/formats (e.g., SWIFT, FIX, XML, CSV).
Error Handling and Logging: Tracks and logs data import/export errors for audit and troubleshooting.
File Upload Support: Supports manual data import through files (e.g., CSV, Excel).
Historical Data Archiving: Ability to import and reconcile historical data over long periods.
Multi-source Integration: Supports data import/export from multiple sources such as custodians, exchanges, clearing houses, and internal systems.
Real-time Data Sync: Ability to synchronize data between the system and sources in real-time.
Scheduled Imports: Ability to schedule recurring data imports at defined intervals.

Exception Management

Capabilities to identify, categorize, investigate, and resolve mismatches and breaks.

Audit Log of Actions: Maintains a detailed, immutable audit trail of exception handling steps.
Auto-assignment of Cases: Automatically assigns exceptions to designated users or teams.
Bulk Exception Management: Supports bulk status update, assignment, and resolution.
Exception Dashboard: Interactive dashboard summarizing open breaks and exceptions.
Exception Root Cause Analysis: Provides built-in analytics/tools for root cause analysis.
Priority Tagging: Tag exceptions with custom priority levels.
Resolution Time Tracking: Measures time taken to resolve each exception.
Resolution Workflow: Built-in workflow for exception investigation and resolution.
Root Cause Coding: Allows users to code breaks with root cause for later reporting.
User-defined Exception Categories: Customize exception categories for organization-specific workflows.

Integration & Extensibility

How readily the solution fits into the broader operational technology ecosystem and supports future needs.

Custom Scripting: Allows custom scripts (e.g., Python, JavaScript) for bespoke automation.
Data Mapping and Transformation Tools: Supports mapping and transformation for non-standard data feeds.
Event/Message Bus Integration: Integrates with event bus/kafka for real-time event propagation.
Marketplace/Partner Ecosystem: Access to app/partner ecosystem for pre-built modules.
Number of Supported Integration Points: Measures extensibility by supported integration points.
Open API Support: APIs available for downstream/upstream integration (REST, SOAP, etc.).
Plugin/Extension Framework: Supports plug-ins/extensions for feature augmentations.
Single Sign-On (SSO): Supports federated SSO via SAML, OAuth, etc.
Third-party Integration Catalog: Library of pre-built integrations with popular financial apps and services.
Webhooks: Supports outbound webhooks for triggering workflows/API calls externally.

Matching Engine & Rules

Features related to the core matching and exception identification process essential for reconciliation.

Automated Suggestion Engine: Automatically suggests matches based on machine learning or heuristics.
Configurable Matching Rules: Allows users to define and customize rules for matching transactions.
Exception Grouping: Groups related exceptions to assist with bulk resolution.
Manual Matching Support: Enables manual intervention and adjustment of matches by users.
Matching Speed: Speed with which the system processes and matches records.
Multi-level Matching: Supports single- and multi-stage (e.g. 1-way, 2-way, 3-way) reconciliation.
Partial Match Identification: Ability to identify and flag partial matches for user review.
Re-match Functionality: Ability to re-run matching logic after rule or data changes.
Tolerance Handling: Handles tolerance thresholds for amounts, dates, and quantitative fields.
User-defined Matching Fields: Users can specify which fields to use in matching logic.

Performance & Scalability

Platform performance in terms of speed and ability to handle large transaction volumes typical in brokerage operations.

Auto-scaling Capabilities: Automatically scales resources up or down based on load.
Batch Processing Support: Can efficiently process large data batches in off-peak hours.
Concurrent User Sessions: Supports multiple users working simultaneously.
Disaster Recovery (RTO/RPO): System achieves recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO).
High Availability: System architecture supports redundancy and fail-over.
Maximum Transaction Volume: Maximum supported daily transaction volume.
Peak Processing Throughput: Maximum number of records matched per second under load.
Real-time Performance Monitoring: Continuous system health/performance tracking and alarms.
Response Time: Average end-user response time for normal operations.
Scalable Infrastructure: Easily scales to handle growth in users, data, and transaction volume.

Reporting & Analytics

Reporting capabilities to monitor reconciliation process, exceptions, and trends over time.

Ad-hoc Querying: Users can run ad-hoc database queries for reporting.
Custom Report Builder: Allows users to construct custom reports and analytics.
Data Export Options: Export reports and analytics in multiple formats (PDF, Excel, CSV, etc).
Drilldown Capabilities: Drill down from summary statistics into granular transaction-level details.
Exception Trend Analysis: Analyzes exception occurrence over different dimensions (e.g., time, counterparty).
Interactive Dashboards: Provides visual, interactive dashboards with real-time metrics.
KPI Monitoring: Monitors key performance indicators such as breaks, resolution times, and volumes.
Real-time Analytics: Analytics and visualizations update in real-time with underlying data.
Scheduled Report Delivery: Ability to automatically send reports on a schedule.
Standard Reports Library: Comes with a set of standardized, out-of-the-box operational reports.

Security & Compliance

Security controls and compliance features supporting regulatory and operational standards.

Audit Trail: Comprehensive audit logs to meet regulatory requirements.
Compliance Certifications: Number of current, supported, recognized compliance certifications.
Data Encryption: Encrypts data both at-rest and in-transit.
Data Masking: Masks sensitive information based on user or role.
Data Retention Controls: Customizable data retention and deletion policies.
Intrusion Detection Integration: Integrates with internal/external security monitoring solutions.
Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): Supports additional authentication factors for login security.
Regulatory Reporting Support: Helps generate mandatory compliance and regulatory reports (e.g., MiFID II, 17a-4).
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Defines permissions based on user roles within the organization.
Secure User Provisioning: Controls for onboarding, offboarding, and user access reviews.

Support & Vendor Services

Describes the quality of vendor support, training, documentation, and community resources.

24/7 Support Availability: Round-the-clock support by phone, chat, or email.
Average Support Resolution Time: Average time to resolve a typical support request.
Dedicated Account Manager: Appoints a named contact for large or strategic clients.
Feedback-driven Product Roadmap: Incorporates user feedback in ongoing product development.
Implementation Assistance: Professional services for onboarding, data migration, and go-live.
Knowledge Base Access: Access to online documentation, FAQs, and how-tos.
On-demand Training: Provides online or on-site training modules for users.
Regular Feature Updates: Receives regular software enhancements and security updates.
SLA-backed Uptime Guarantee: Guaranteed minimum uptime as per SLA.
User Community Forums: Promotes engagement and peer-support among clients.

User Experience & Interface

Features designed for intuitive navigation, usability, and accessibility by various user roles in brokerage operations.

Accessibility Compliance: Meets standards for accessibility (e.g., WCAG 2.1).
Advanced Search: Powerful, granular search across transactions and exceptions.
Bulk Actions: Supports bulk update, approval, or export of transactions/exceptions.
Contextual Help: Integrated help, guides, or tooltips available in-app.
Customizable Dashboards: Users can personalize dashboards to display information of interest.
In-app Feedback and Support: Ability to submit feedback, report issues, or request support directly from the interface.
Mobile Access: Accessible on mobile devices (native or responsive web).
Multi-language Support: Application is available in multiple languages.
Saved Views and Filters: Users can save and re-use custom data views and filters.
User Preference Management: Users can manage notification settings, themes, and other preferences.

Workflow & Automation

Automation of business processes and collaboration features to streamline the reconciliation lifecycle.

Automated Issue Resolution: Automatically applies predefined rules to resolve specific exceptions.
Automated Notifications: Automatically sends notifications via email, SMS, or in-app.
Customizable Workflow Engine: Allows configuration of multi-step workflows for reconciliation and resolution processes.
Escalation Procedures: Automates escalation of unresolved issues after defined periods.
Integration with External BPM Tools: Can be linked with external business process management systems.
Number of Concurrent Workflows: Maximum number of active workflows supported simultaneously.
Role-based Task Assignment: Assigns tasks based on user roles and permissions.
SLA Tracking: Monitors and measures adherence to Service Level Agreements.
User Approval Flows: Supports multi-level user approvals within workflows.
Workflow Templates: Pre-configured templates for common reconciliation workflows.

Reconciliation Software features explained

for Operations