Audit support
Working paper preparation
Working paper preparation from Finbryn builds the lead schedules and reconciliations your Australian reviewer checks, each cross-referenced to the trial balance and prepared to the Australian Auditing Standards format your auditor already uses. Our team maintains the file through review rounds and logs every change.
Auditor request list
Illustrative client · August 2026
AUD
- Trial balance and general ledger exportDone
- Bank confirmations and statementsDone
- Receivables and payables listingsDone
- Fixed asset register with additionsIn progress
- Accruals and prepayments supportNext
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Schedules that trace, not schedules that look tidy
A lead schedule that will not tie back to the trial balance is not evidence, it is a formatted guess. We build a lead schedule for every major account, reconcile it to supporting detail, and cross-reference each figure to where it originates, whether that is a bank statement, a lease register or a superannuation clearing house report.
Roll-forwards, not point-in-time numbers
Accrual, provision and fixed-asset schedules show the opening balance, the period's movement and the closing balance side by side. A reviewer working to the Australian Auditing Standards is looking for exactly that shape, not a single number with no history behind it.
Handling review comments
When review comments come back, we update the specific schedule, keep the earlier version in a revision log rather than overwriting it, and note what changed and why. That log matters the second time a reviewer asks why a balance moved between drafts.
Format
We build to your audit firm's own template where one exists, or a consistent internal format when it does not, with file naming and version numbers held steady across the whole set.
Group and consolidation schedules
Where a business runs more than one entity, working papers extend to the consolidation itself: an intercompany elimination schedule, a reconciliation between each entity's ledger and the group trial balance, and a note explaining any adjustment made only at consolidation. Reviewers tend to ask about that layer first, since it is where a genuine error is most likely to hide.
Working papers sit downstream of audit-ready books and often feed internal controls documentation once a reviewer asks how a specific control actually operates.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Working paper preparation
Do you build working papers in a specific tool?
Most engagements run in Excel, cross-referenced to a trial balance export. If your audit firm uses a specific working-paper platform, we work inside that format instead.
How does this differ for an ACNC review compared with a company audit?
An ACNC review or audit generally covers a smaller schedule set focused on grant and donation income; we scope the working papers to what the specific reviewer actually requests.
How many review rounds does this cover?
We update schedules through as many rounds as the engagement runs, logging each revision so the file stays accurate rather than treating every round as a fresh build.
Can you prepare working papers to a specific ASA reference an auditor asks for?
Yes. Where an Australian Auditing Standard reference drives a particular schedule format, we build to it rather than a generic template.
Can working papers be handed over in the format our auditor already uses?
Yes, where the auditor has a standard lead sheet or workpaper template we build to it directly, which cuts down the back-and-forth of reformatting evidence during fieldwork.
Do you use a specific working paper template?
We can work from your auditor's preferred template or a standard set we maintain; either way the schedules tie directly back to the trial balance.
What happens when the auditor comes back with review comments?
We update the affected schedules and log the change, so the file stays clean for the next review round.
What software works with working paper preparation?
Working paper preparation runs inside Excel or QuickBooks Online, whichever you already use. If you are not yet set up in either, we can configure a file in your name so you keep ownership of it once the engagement is under way.
How do we get started with working paper preparation?
Getting started with working paper preparation begins with a short review of your current records and software access. Once that is done we confirm scope and timing in writing, and ongoing work begins on the schedule agreed with you.
Related services
- Audit supportAudit-ready booksMonthly and year-end books maintained with the support and schedules an external auditor expects to see on day one, so fieldwork starts without a scramble to reconstruct records.
- Audit supportInternal controls documentationFinancial process controls, such as who approves a payment or reconciles an account, written down and walked through with your team, so an auditor or funder can see how the numbers are actually produced.
Industries
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.