Information Concepts developed, maintained, and upgraded Proctor, the online test administration system used by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Proctor enables the FINRA to use nationwide third-party testing centers to administer over 2,000 individualized certification exams to brokers each day.

The system consists of three components: Client Organization, which is responsible for test authoring and score reporting; Pro, which is responsible for browser-based appointment scheduling and test delivery; and Pencil and Paper, which is responsible for providing testing materials to locations without computer access.

This system allows Arden’s portfolio managers to complete a thorough analysis on Hedge funds, allowing for more consistent and reliable performance results. Web Services were developed within a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to integrate this tool with other internal tracking systems.

Information Concepts upgraded Pro, a subsystem of the Proctor online test administration system used by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Proctor allows the FINRA to administer to brokers over 2,000 individualized certification exams each day, and Pro enables browser-based appointment scheduling, and test delivery. The purpose of the upgrade was to develop API functions that create a standard interface to FINRA’s systems to allow third-party testing organizations to administer the FINRA exams.

Information Concepts developed Fannie Mae’s web-based grant management application. The system allows Fannie Mae Foundation staff to send reports detailing the use of financial grants. Users can return to the site several times to work on their reports before submitting a final version to the Fannie Mae Foundation.

Information Concepts developed an application to collect point-of-sales scanner data from regional retail chains, aggregate this data, and provide it back to the chains at a summary level suitable for management analysis and review.  The system collects scanner data for an entire chain nightly, aggregates the data by store and region at a category and subcategory level, and compares it to the chains past sales, promotional schedule, and sales plan. Aggregated data and drill-downs defined by the retail customer are available for review over the Web the next day.

Information Concepts developed the forms printing subsystem of the Central Registration Database (CRD) used by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).  The CRD, a repository for data on all brokers registered with the FINRA, was developed using Visual Basic, MS Access, IEF, and an Oracle database.  The goal of the forms printing effort was to extract data from IEF servers, which manage the Oracle database, and develop output designed to look identical to FINRA’s Forms U4 and U5, Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration and Transfer.  The subsystem, which contains over 50,000 lines of VB code, extracts data from the IEF servers and places it in an MS Access database, which is queried as the source for all of the forms printing code. 

Information Concepts developed the Tips application to allow FINRA to collect customer complaints through its Web site. The application allows Web site users to submit a “regulatory tip,” about unfair practices, fraud, or abusive conduct involving registered FINRA brokers and brokerage firms, online. 

Information Concepts participated in the development and maintenance of the Product Database (PRDB) used by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as the single repository for all FINRA archival data related to all stocks traded on the Nasdaq stock market. The PRDB system captures and integrates data from multiple FINRA systems, including the NASDAQ Trading and Quotation system, the OTC Quotation system, the OTCBB Closing Report, the Subscriber Database, the NASDAQ Integrated Billing System (NIBS), ACT, SOES, and SelectNet. It enables FINRA to monitor the performance of NASDAQ marketing services and to measure product performance against financial and usage forecasts. 

Information Concepts was responsible for the architecture, design, and development of the first commercially available Open Financial Exchange (OFX) Server product, for Intelidata Technologies Corp. (now known as FISERV). OFX, developed by Microsoft, Intuit, and Check Free, is the unified specification for the electronic exchange of financial data between financial institutions, businesses, and consumers via the Internet.  It enables products, such as Quicken and Microsoft Money, to communicate directly with OFX-enabled financial institutions.  Additionally, Information Concepts developed the integration between the OFX Server product and a back-end transaction processor.

Information Concepts designed and deployed the upgrade of Nasdaq.com, the dynamic informational web site for The NASDAQ. The upgrade to this site included providing real time market and business information, as well as stock data to visitors on the site.  Information Concepts was responsible for re-engineering the site to support multiple languages. 

Information Concepts developed the Risk Scoring and Compliance System (RSCS) used by The NASDAQ analysts to identify publicly traded companies that are at risk of falling below the stock market’s listing standards.  RSCS, which compiles data from both The NASDAQ and public sources, employs an Intranet-based user interface and visualization techniques to allow users to quickly identify companies at risk, and provides detailed risk factors for individual companies by analyst, market segment, industry grouping, or market capitalization.

Information Concepts implemented and maintained the Siebel enterprise contact management for the NASDAQ Stock Market.  The system is used to house sensitive information on all companies whose stocks are traded on the NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ stock markets.  Information Concepts was responsible for migrating data from SIRS, an Informix-based legacy contact management system written in C and Informix 4GL, to Siebel, an Oracle-based system written in C. 

Information Concepts was responsible for integrating Enterprise Financial Transaction Exchange (EnterpriseFTX), an Open Financial Exchange (OFX) server product sold by Enterprise Engineering Inc., with existing solutions developed by Online Resources & Communications Corporation (ORCC).  ORCC, an outsourcer of privately-branded Internet financial services for banking institutions, uses EnterpriseFTX to link its real-time banking and bill paying service with personal financial management software such a Quicken and other OFX-based applications and services. 

Information Concepts developed and implemented ImDoc, the Document Management Component of Sallie Mae's Customer Service Application.  This system tracks the correspondence between the students that hold loans and the association’s customer service center.  Connectivity to the Legacy application was accomplished by using a Rumba 3270 emulator.  In addition, Information Concepts developed lthe ow-level portion of TLI-based messaging system used by both the client and server applications as well as the front-end IQ Reports. 

Information Concepts developed an add-in for Microsoft Outlook users for T. Rowe Price.  Since development, the add-in has been deployed worldwide to approximately 5,000 users. The Add-in helps the customer fulfill business and regulatory requirements, including maintaining copies and adding disclaimer footers to messages sent to and from users in various roles. 

In this report conversion project with The Motley Fool, Information Concepts was tasked with converting reports from Brio to SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services. This result allows authorized users to view financial and membership metrics reports using a web browser and reduces or eliminate need for costly licenses for the Brio reporting software.

Information Concepts supported the development of Visa's Electronic Bill Payment system.  The system processes electronic payment requests from Visa’s consumer and banking customers.  Information Concepts was responsible for verifying and validating EBMS, the Visa Inter-bank; providing EBMS support to customer banks; developing Java-based programs for a Web-based administrative application; and enhancing Remedy, a problem tracking system.