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For accounting firms

Review support

Short answer

Review support gives Australian accounting practices a second set of eyes on files their own staff already prepared: trial balances tied to workpapers, reconciliations checked for open variances and a documented list of questions, delivered before a file reaches the principal for sign-off ahead of a BAS or return lodgement.

Engagement tracker

Illustrative client · August 2026

AUD

  1. Client file access set up under your firm's nameDone
  2. Monthly books prepared to your review standardDone
  3. Review notes cleared and loggedIn progress
  4. Reports sent to your partner for sign-offNext
  5. Year-end workpapers staged for your preparerNext

Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.

Why the bottleneck sits where it does

A registered agent carries the responsibility for anything lodged with the ATO, which is exactly why their desk becomes the queue every file waits in. That scarce hour is wasted on arithmetic that never needed a principal's judgement in the first place: a figure that does not tie, a bank line still sitting unreconciled, a document a client never actually sent through. We take that first pass off the queue.

The pass itself

Every trial balance gets traced to its workpapers. Every bank and GST reconciliation is checked for anything stale still sitting open. The file is run against your practice's own review checklist, whatever that already is, and anything that does not tie or is missing goes onto a written list rather than a verbal aside that gets forgotten by the next BAS cycle.

No pace of our own

We fit whatever calendar your practice already runs on. Some weeks that means a fast turnaround ahead of the 28th, other weeks a standing batch once a month is enough. The review process stays yours; we just fit inside it.

The line we stop at

A registered agent's sign-off is still required on everything, and nothing gets lodged by us. SMSF audit, financial statement audit and any other attest work sit entirely outside this. What we hand back is a checked file, so the final review is spent on judgement rather than on catching something a checklist would have caught anyway.

A number of practices run this alongside busy-season tax prep support through the BAS calendar and white-label bookkeeping once that peak passes, keeping one standard across both.

Questions

Frequently asked questions: Review support

Does review support replace our principal's final sign-off?

No. It happens before that review, catching ties and open items so the principal's own sign-off goes faster, not instead of it.

Can you follow our practice's existing review checklist?

Yes. We work to whatever checklist or standard your practice already applies rather than substituting our own.

Is this an audit or attest service?

No. Audit, including SMSF audit, stays out of scope everywhere. This is a documented review pass on files your own staff prepared.

How is review support priced?

By the volume of files reviewed each period, agreed with your firm during onboarding, rather than a flat per-client rate that does not reflect how complex a given file turns out to be.

What software access does review support need?

Read or comment access to the client files under review, inside whatever practice management or accounting software your firm already uses.

Does this replace our partner's sign-off?

No. We check the file ahead of partner review; your partner remains the one who signs off.

Can you follow our own review checklist?

Yes. We work to whatever checklist or standard your firm already applies to file review.

What if our records for review support are not up to date?

If your records are behind, we scope a catch-up first so review support starts from a clean, reconciled base. That catch-up is priced and timed separately from the ongoing engagement, so you always know what each part costs.

Who reviews the work before it reaches us?

Every deliverable under review support is reviewed by a senior principal before it reaches you. You keep access to the underlying file at every stage, so nothing about the work happens somewhere you cannot see it.

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.