Series 27 is a license and exam, which is also called the Financial and Operations Principal Exam. Financial professionals who wish to become qualified to prepare and manage the books and records of a firm take this exam. Those who pass the exam are qualified to perform those activities as well as to become the CFO of a firm. The test takes three-hours-and forty-five minutes to complete. It features 145 multiple-choice questions, of which 69% must be answered correctly to pass. The exam and license are often compared to the Series 28 exam and license. However, the two differ in that the Series 27 license is needed by broker-dealers that have a minimum net capital requirement of $250,000 and by municipal securities brokers that have a minimum net capital requirement of $150,000.
If you're interested in receiving your Series 27 license, you should begin by familiarizing yourself with the content that is covered on the exam. There are five main categories of knowledge, which you should expect to answer questions on. These are financial reporting, operations and general securities industries regulations, customer protection, net capital, and funding and cash management. Within these categories, the exam will have questions on topics like the statutory rules surrounding broker-dealer responsibilities, record-keeping requirements, and the relevant portions of the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970.