Financial Resource Center/Readiness checklist

Audit Readiness Checklist

Reduce avoidable scrambling before fieldwork begins.

Preparation, not paperwork

Audit readiness is mostly good financial housekeeping. The cleaner the books, schedules, support, ownership, and controls are throughout the year, the less painful the audit becomes.

This checklist is not a replacement for your auditor's request list. It is a practical way to reduce avoidable scrambling before fieldwork begins.

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1.Close the books
Complete the year-end close and resolve known errors before sending final reports.
2.Reconcile cash
Reconcile all bank and credit-card accounts to statements.
3.Support the balance sheet
Prepare support for receivables, payables, prepaids, fixed assets, debt, accruals, deferred items, equity, and other material balances.
4.Clean old items
Investigate stale checks, old credits, aged receivables, old payables, suspense items, and unusual balances.
5.Prepare rollforwards
Prepare clear beginning balance + activity = ending balance schedules where needed.
6.Organize agreements
Gather debt agreements, leases, major contracts, Board minutes, legal documents, and other items relevant to the financial statements.
7.Document estimates
Support significant estimates, reserves, assumptions, or management judgments.
8.Review revenue and expenses
Check period cutoff and support for unusual or significant transactions.
9.Prepare the PBC list
Assign every auditor request to an owner and due date. Track open, submitted, returned, and completed items.
10.Review access and controls
Be ready to explain who prepares, approves, pays, records, reconciles, and reviews key financial activities.
11.Tie schedules to the ledger
Make sure supporting schedules agree to the final trial balance or clearly explain reconciling items.
12.Do an internal quality check
Review files before sending them. A schedule should answer the auditor's question without creating three new ones.

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Educational resource only. This checklist is a preparation aid. It is not an audit, review, compilation, attestation, assurance engagement, certification, or accounting opinion, and it is not accounting, tax or legal advice for a specific business.