A transaction confirmation and a periodic account statement serve different purposes in the same evidence trail. FINRA’s investor guidance describes the confirmation details and recommends comparing them with the relevant statement. A clear reconciliation separates the executed trade from the account’s subsequent cash, holdings and valuation records. FINRA: Are You Checking Your Trade Confirmations?
Follow the evidence
Trace how the event could reach markets, then inspect a competing explanation.
Compare explanations
Switch lenses to see what each account explains—and what remains uncertain.
WFN analysis: take an invented purchase of 25 shares at 40 dollars, with an assumed separate five-dollar commission. The securities cost is 1,000 dollars and the illustrative cash outflow is 1,005. If the same 25 shares are later valued at 42 dollars, their market value is 1,050. That change alone is not a confirmation discrepancy. The reconciliation therefore needs a distinction between transaction price, charges and the price used for a later valuation. A statement can correctly show the quantity and a changed market value while the original confirmation remains unchanged. Conversely, a missing quantity or unexplained cash entry requires investigation even when the portfolio’s total value looks broadly plausible. An execution can also involve more than one fill. The order instruction, execution records and final confirmation may organize that activity differently. A useful review follows the documented identifiers and quantities instead of assuming that each screen must contain the same number of rows. This observation describes a reconciliation method, not a finding about a particular platform’s records.
WFN analysis: take an invented purchase of 25 shares at 40 dollars, with an assumed separate five-dollar commission. The securities cost is 1,000 dollars and the illustrative cash outflow is 1,005. If the same 25 shares are later valued at 42 dollars, their market value is 1,050. That change alone is not a confirmation discrepancy. The reconciliation therefore needs a distinction between transaction price, charges and the price used for a later valuation. A statement can correctly show the quantity and a changed market value while the original confirmation remains unchanged. Conversely, a missing quantity or unexplained cash entry requires investigation even when the portfolio’s total value looks broadly plausible. An execution can also involve more than one fill. The order instruction, execution records and final confirmation may organize that activity differently. A useful review follows the documented identifiers and quantities instead of assuming that each screen must contain the same number of rows. This observation describes a reconciliation method, not a finding about a particular platform’s records.
Retain the order reference, security identity, direction, executed quantity, prices, applicable charges and the statement period. Follow the related cash and position entries using their dated labels, including settlement information where supplied. Corporate actions, transfers and currency conversions need separate supporting records; they should not be silently attributed to a trade merely because the dates are close. When a difference remains unexplained, describe the specific fields and preserve the original records for the firm’s response. FINRA’s advice to raise discrepancies in writing supports a traceable review. This article supplies no universal fee disclosure rule for every product, no allegation of unauthorized trading and no conclusion about an individual account. The example prices and quantities are entirely hypothetical.
What the confirmation is designed to record
FINRA explains that confirmations contain transaction date, execution price and quantity, with further details depending on the security. They also identify whether the firm acted as agent or principal. The compensation information can involve a commission or a markup or markdown, subject to the relevant transaction and disclosure requirements. FINRA: Are You Checking Your Trade Confirmations?
The guidance recommends checking a confirmation against the statement for the period in which the trade occurred and contacting the firm in writing about discrepancies or unauthorized trades. It notes that confirmations may come from clearing or carrying firms. That source is another useful part of the transaction record. FINRA: Are You Checking Your Trade Confirmations?
Execution cost and later market value need not match
WFN analysis: take an invented purchase of 25 shares at 40 dollars, with an assumed separate five-dollar commission. The securities cost is 1,000 dollars and the illustrative cash outflow is 1,005. If the same 25 shares are later valued at 42 dollars, their market value is 1,050. That change alone is not a confirmation discrepancy.
The reconciliation therefore needs a distinction between transaction price, charges and the price used for a later valuation. A statement can correctly show the quantity and a changed market value while the original confirmation remains unchanged. Conversely, a missing quantity or unexplained cash entry requires investigation even when the portfolio’s total value looks broadly plausible.
An execution can also involve more than one fill. The order instruction, execution records and final confirmation may organize that activity differently. A useful review follows the documented identifiers and quantities instead of assuming that each screen must contain the same number of rows. This observation describes a reconciliation method, not a finding about a particular platform’s records.
Keep enough detail to explain each movement
Retain the order reference, security identity, direction, executed quantity, prices, applicable charges and the statement period. Follow the related cash and position entries using their dated labels, including settlement information where supplied. Corporate actions, transfers and currency conversions need separate supporting records; they should not be silently attributed to a trade merely because the dates are close.
When a difference remains unexplained, describe the specific fields and preserve the original records for the firm’s response. FINRA’s advice to raise discrepancies in writing supports a traceable review. This article supplies no universal fee disclosure rule for every product, no allegation of unauthorized trading and no conclusion about an individual account. The example prices and quantities are entirely hypothetical.