Category Archives for "Accounting and Auditing"

Review Financial Statements on Monitors

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing , Technology

Today I give you seven steps to review financial statements on computer screens. I explain how to review financial statements in Word and in PDFs. 

In another post titled How CPAs Review Financial Statements, I provide information about creating and reviewing financial statements, but it doesn’t provide information about doing so on computer screens. This article does.

Financial Statement Review in Word

1. First, open and visually scan the entire financial statement (spend two to three seconds per page) just to get a feel for the whole product. How do the parts fit together? Are the financial statements subject to the Yellow Book? Do they contain supplementary information? Are the statements comparative?
2. Second, use a large computer screen (22 inches or more) to compare your financial statement pages. If you are reviewing in Word, reduce the financial statement page size by holding the control key down and scrolling back with your mouse. As you do so, you will see multiple statements on the screen, for instance: balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement.  Now that you can see multiple statements, you can tick and tie your numbers. I use step 2. to compare the financial statement numbers. For example, I compare the net income number on the income statement to the same number on the cash flow statement. Then I use step 3. to compare the financial statements to the notes and the supplementary information.
3. Next, use two to three computer screens to compare your financial statements with the notes and supplementary information. Open the financial statement on each screen–for instance, the balance sheet on screen 1, the notes on screen 2, and the supplementary information on screen 3. In Word, click View, New Window and another instance of the document will open. Then you can move the new instance to a second screen. Alternatively, you can use the side-by-side feature in Word to place two open documents on one screen. 
4. After completing your review of the notes, return to and take a second look at the balance sheet to see if the disclosures are complete. (Since you just reviewed the notes, it’s easier to compare them to the balance sheet. If, for example, you look at the balance sheet and see inventory but no disclosure for the same, you’ll more easily see the error.)
5. Use the find feature (in Word, click the Home tab, click Find, then key in the number–or word–you are looking for) to locate words or numbers. If you want to compare the long-term debt number on the balance sheet to the notes and to supplemental information, type that number into your search dialog box and you’re immediately taken to the same number in the notes. Click next, and you will see the next instance (in the supplementary information). You can do the same with words. (Note: If you embed Excel tables in the Word document, the find feature will not locate numbers in the embedded tables. Consider PDF review option below.)
6. When needed, take breaks. Never spend more than 1.5 hours reviewing statements without taking a short break. You get more done by relaxing periodically.
7. Finally, if you are reviewing financial statements in Word, consider turning on Track Changes and key in suggested revisions. Word reflects your modifications in a distinct color. That way, others can see your suggested changes. They can also see who made the suggested corrections. Thereafter, they can accept or reject the proposed changes.

Financial Statement Review with PDF Documents

You may find it easier to review financial statements after converting them to a PDF (rather than in Word). This makes all numbers and words fully searchable (no embedded Excel spreadsheet limitation issue). 

You can use the split screen feature (click Windows, Split in Adobe Acrobat) to see the same financial statements on one screen. I usually do this on my center screen. This allows me to scroll and compare numbers in the financial statements. For instance, I compare total assets with total liabilities and equity. Or I compare equity on the balance sheet with my statement of changes in equity ending balances. 

I also open a second instance of the PDF on my right-hand screen, mainly to compare my notes with the financial statements (on my center screen). Then I use control-f to locate numbers or words. For instance, if I see $456,856 for total plant, property, and equipment (on my center screen), I click on the right-hand screen, then control-f, then key in the number to find it in the notes. 

I make review comments in the PDF using the comments feature in Adobe Acrobat. Then persons can respond with the reply feature in the comments field. That way, they can provide a response, whether they agree or not—and what they did if a correction was made. 

Your Suggestions

Those are my ideas. What are yours?

How CPAs Review Financial Statements

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing

Most CPA firms create financial statements for their clients. This blog post tells you how to create and review financial statements efficiently and effectively.

Create Financial Statements

First, where possible, electronically link the trial balance to the financial statements. (Linking is often done from the trial balance to Excel. Then the Excel document is embedded into a Word document.) Doing so will expedite the financial statement process and enhance the integrity of the numbers.

Do the following:

• Prepare the initial draft of the statements
• Create clear disclosures
• Complete a current financial statement disclosure checklist 
• Research any nonstandard opinion or report language (place sample reports from PPC or other sources in the file). Later the partner or manager will compare this supporting document to the opinion or report
• Research any additional reports (e.g., Yellow Book, Single Audit). Place a copy of such reports in the file. Later the partner or manager will compare the supporting document to the opinion or report. 
• The staff person should review the audit planning document to see if any new standards are to be incorporated into this to year’s financial statements

Next you’ll need to proof the financial statements.

Proof the Financial Statements

Proof your financial statements. The proofer usually does the following before the partner or managers’ review:

• Add (foot the numbers for) all statements, notes, schedules
• Tick and tie numbers such as:
  • Total assets equal total liabilities and equity
  • Ending cash on the cash flow statement agrees with the balance sheet
  • Net income on the income statement agrees with the beginning number of an indirect method cash flow statement
  • Numbers in the notes agree with the financial statements
  • Numbers in the supplementary schedules agree with the financial statements
• Review financial statements for compliance with firm formatting standard 
• Read financial statements for appropriate grammar and punctuation (consider using Grammarly)
• Compare the table of contents to all pages in the report
• Review page numbers

Partner or Manager Review

Finally, the partner or manager reviews the financial statements. Having the proofer do their part will minimize the review time for this final-stage review.

Here are tips for the final review:

• Scan the complete set of financials to get a general feel for the composition of the report (e.g., Yellow Book report, supplementary information, the industry, etc.). This is a cursory review taking three or four seconds per page.
• Read the beginning part of the summary of significant accounting policies taking note of the reporting framework (e.g., GAAP), type of entity (e.g., nonprofit), and whether the statements are consolidated or combined. Doing so early provides context for the remaining review of the financials.
• Read the opinion or report noting any nonstandard language (e.g., going concern paragraph)
  • Agree named financial statement titles in the opinion or report to the financial statements
  • Agree the dates (e.g., year-end) in the opinion or report to the statements
  • Compare supporting sample report (as provided by your staff member and noted above) to the opinion or report
  • Compare representation letter date to the opinion or review report date
• Review the balance sheet making mental notes of line items that should have related notes (retain those thoughts for review of the notes)
• Review the income statement
• Review the statement of changes in equity (if applicable)
• Review the cash flow statement
• Review the notes (making mental notes regarding sensitive or important disclosures so you can later see if the communication with those charged with governance appropriately contains references to these notes)
• Return to the balance sheet to see if there are additional disclosures needed (since you just read the notes, you will be more aware of omissions — e.g., intangibles are not disclosed)
• Review supplementary information (and related opinion for this information if applicable)
• Review other reports such as Yellow Book and Single Audit (the staff member preparing the financial statements should have placed supporting examples in the file; refer to the examples as necessary)
• If the review is performed with a printed copy of the statements, use yellow highlighter to mark reviewed sections and numbers
• If you review a paper copy, pencil in corrections and provide corrected pages to the staff member for amendments to be made
• If the review is performed on the computer, take screenshots of pages needing corrections and provide to the staff member
• Better yet, review electronically. See my related post Review Financial Statements on Computer Screens

Last Step

Destroy all drafts. Or at a minimum, don’t leave them in the file. Once the financial statements are complete, there is no reason to retain drafts.

Your Suggestions

What other review procedures do you use?

Audit Mistakes: Seven Deadly Sins

By Charles Hall | Auditing

Seven deadly audit sins can destroy you. These audit mistakes kill your profits and effectiveness.

You just completed an audit project, and you have another significant write-down. Last year’s audit hours came in well over budget, and—at the time—you thought, This will not happen again. But here it is, and it’s driving you insane.

Insanity: doing the same thing year after year but expecting different results.

Are you ready for better results?

Audit Mistakes

Here are seven deadly (audit) sins that cause our engagements to fail.

1. We don’t plan

Rolling over the prior year file does not qualify as planning. Using canned audit programs is not planning.

What do I mean? We don’t know what has changed. Why? Because we have not performed real risk assessment such as current year walkthroughs. We have not (really) thought about current year risks of material misstatement.

Each year, audits have new wrinkles.

Are there any fraud rumors? Has the CFO left without explanation? Have cash balances decreased while profits increased? Does the client have a new accounting program or new staff? Can you still obtain the reports you need? Are there any new audit or accounting standards?

Anticipate issues and be ready for them with a real audit plan.

2. SALY lives

Elvis may not be in the house, but SALY is.

Performing the same audit steps is wasteful. Just because we needed the procedure ten years ago does not mean we need it today. Kill SALY. (No, I don’t mean your staff member; SALY stands for Same As Last Year).

I find that audit files are like closets. We allow old thoughts (clothes) to accumulate without purging. It’s high time for a Goodwill visit. After all, this audit mistake has been with you too long. So ask yourself Are all of the prior audit procedures relevant to this year’s engagement?

Will better planning require us to think more in the early phases of the engagement? Yes. Is this hard work? Yes. Will it result in less overall effort? Yes.

Sometimes the Saly issue occurs because of weak staff.

3. We use weak staff

Staffing your engagement is the primary key to project success. Excellent staff makes a challenging engagement pan out well. Poor staff causes your engagement time to balloon–lots of motion, but few results. Maybe you have smart people, but they need training. Consider AuditSense.

Another audit mistake is weak partner involvement.

4. We don’t monitor

Partners must keep an eye on the project. And I don’t mean just asking, “How’s it going?” Look in the audit file. See what is going on. In-charges will usually tell you what you want to hear. They hope to save the job on the final play, but a Hail Mary often results in a lost game.

As Ronald Reagan once said: Trust but verify.

Engagement partners need to lead and monitor. They also need to provide the right technology tools.

5. We use outdated technology

Are you paperless? Using portable scanners and monitors? Are your auditors well versed in Adobe Acrobat? Are you electronically linking your trial balances to Excel documents? Do you use project management software (e.g., Basecamp)? How about conferencing software (e.g., Zoom)? Do you have secure remote access to audit files? Do you store files securely in the cloud (e.g., Box)? Are you using data mining software such as Idea? Do you send electronic confirmations? 

Do your staff members fear you so much that they don’t give you the bad news?

6. Staff (intentionally) hide problems

Remind your staff that bad news communicated early is always welcome.

Early communication of bad news should be encouraged and rewarded (yes, rewarded, assuming the employee did not cause the problem).

Sometimes leaders unwittingly cause their staff to hide problems. In the past, we may have gone ballistic on them–now they fear the same.

And here’s one last audit mistake: no post-engagement review.

7. No post-engagement review

Once our audit is complete, we should honestly assess the project. Then make a list of inefficiencies or failures for future reference.

If you are a partner, consider a fifteen-minute meeting with staff to go over the list.

Your ideas to overcome audit mistakes

What do you do to keep your audits within budget?

CPA’s Ethics: Four Questions for Better Decisions

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing

In this article, I address CPA’s ethics and the benefits of making good decisions.

Men are alike in their promises. It is only in their deeds that they differ. Molière

We’ve all been there.

Your client wants you to sign off on an issue, one that is in the land of gray–you know, that place where there is no black or white. And, of course, the issue has significant dollars attached to it, so it’s important.

Your anguish rises, so you try to see the Great Oz, but he’s hiding behind that curtain, smoke billowing, lighting crashing–but no advice. Since the wizard has no wise words of wisdom, you need someone, or at least something, to help you. Here are four questions you can ask yourself when you face ethical decisions.

CPA Ethics: Four Questions for Better Decisions

Here are four questions to ask:

1. How would I feel if my choice was placed on the front-page of the local newspaper (or in the Journal of Accountancy)?
2. What would my father do (or anyone else I greatly respect)?
3. What would I advise my child to do? (If your child is three, pretend she is thirty.)
4. What’s the worst thing that could happen? 

Can questions such as these really help? Let’s see. 

County Fires Auditor

Many years ago I was doing an audit of a local county government. I discovered the county commission chairman had arranged for a material purchase of property from his son without using the required bid process, and the transaction was illegal in our state. (I had recently started a CPA firm, so this was one of my few clients. I needed the audit fee.) When I discovered the irregularity, I met with the county commission chairman and told him I would report the transaction in the audit report. He leaned over and quietly said to me, “if you do, you’ll no longer be the auditor.” No one else was in the room.

Later I was physically threatened, and for some time I feared what might happen to me. The decision of what to do, however, had already been made. In asking myself questions such as those above, the right course of action was obvious. 

I reported the illegal transaction and was immediately fired. It cost me, but I knew it was the right thing to do. (Interestingly, when the news broke, a reporter contacted the county commission chairman and the county manager. The county manager stated that I had “my hand in the till,” and that the auditor–that’s me–had stolen money, though they never said how.)

Because of situations like this one, client acceptance has become important to me. We need clients with integrity. Yes, we do. 

When you face a decision such as this one, here are four actions that may help. 

CPA’s Ethics: Four Actions for Better Decisions

Here are four actions to take:

1. Call the AICPA Ethics Hotline or the AICPA Technical Hotline (877-242-7212). (They are independent of the issue, so they will give you a straight-up answer.)
2. Call a CPA with knowledge in the area of concern, and ask his or her opinion.
3. Create a memo supporting your proposed decision, and share it with a partner, quality control department, or whoever is in charge. (I find that writing creates clarity.)
4. Sit on it (if you can). I gain clarity as I allow the issue to percolate, and as I pray about it. I try not to make a high-stakes decision quickly. Hurried decision are usually poor ones.

Do the Right Thing

As you consider this article, remember, a clear conscience is a precious commodity. If you believe a particular course of action is going to keep you awake at night, your conscience is talking to you. Listen, even if it means less money–especially if it means less money.  

Do the right thing. You’ll be glad you did.

A CPA’s ethics are, and will always be, important.

Use of a Specialist: How to Document

By Charles Hall | Auditing