Preparing for your statutory audit: a practical checklist
The information an audit team needs, the questions that cause the most delay, and what directors should expect from the closing meeting.
- Author
- EPW Audit Department
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- Last reviewed
A smooth audit is largely decided before fieldwork begins. Trial balance, reconciled bank statements, a fixed-asset register, an aged debtor and creditor listing, and support for significant or unusual transactions cover most of the opening request.
The items that most often cause delay are related-party balances without documentation, revenue cut-off around the year end, and provisions or accruals that were estimated but never revisited.
Directors should expect more than a signature. The closing meeting should cover the basis of the opinion, the judgements taken, and a management letter identifying control weaknesses with practical suggestions for improvement.
Where a group is involved, agreeing accounting policies and the consolidation timetable across entities early avoids reworking figures that were already agreed locally.