{
  "question_id": "CG-P1B-FULL-041",
  "slug": "what-belongs-on-a-checklist-for-preparing-financial-statements",
  "display_title": "What steps and supporting documents belong on a checklist for preparing or compiling a set of financial statements?",
  "format": "article-v2",
  "applies_to": {
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      "US"
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    "frameworks": [],
    "tax_year": null,
    "platforms": []
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  "general_concept": true,
  "summary": "Start from a closed, reconciled ledger and a chosen basis of accounting. Then map every trial-balance account to a statement line using a recorded mapping, draft the statements and notes, prove they agree with each other and the ledger, and label each with entity, basis and date or period. Keep a file holding the mapping, adjustments, tie-outs and third-party support. An outside accountant engaged to prepare or compile adds a signed engagement letter and a no-assurance legend or compilation report.",
  "body": "## What does a complete set contain, and how is each statement labelled?\n\nThe basis decides the contents. AR-C 60, the general section of the AICPA's Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARSs), says the applicable financial reporting framework determines the presentation, structure and content of the statements and what constitutes a complete set. For U.S. GAAP, the AICPA's illustrative compilation report in AR-C 80 lists balance sheets, statements of income, changes in stockholders' equity and cash flows, and the related notes; its tax-basis illustration, in which management elected to omit substantially all disclosures, uses statements of assets, liabilities and partners' capital, of revenue and expenses, and of changes in partners' capital, each marked \"tax basis\".\n\nLabel every statement so it stands alone:\n\n- **Entity.** Use the business's legal name.\n- **Title and basis.** For a basis other than GAAP, AR-C 70's guidance says the description usually sits next to or under the title, as in \"statement of assets and liabilities — modified cash basis\".\n- **Date or period.** AR-C 60 defines statements as showing resources and obligations at a point in time or their changes over a period, so the balance sheet is \"as of\" the period end and the others run \"for the year ended\" that date.\n- **Equity caption.** The FASB's Concepts Statement 8, Chapter 4 (Elements), notes that equity goes by several names, such as owners' equity, stockholders' equity and partners' capital; use the one matching the legal form.\n\nNotes, including the basis description and significant accounting policies, travel with the statements; an accountant's no-assurance legend or report goes only on the accountant paths below.\n\n## Who is preparing the statements, and what changes on each path?\n\nSSARSs bind the accountant, not the business: AR-C 60 says they do not impose responsibilities on management. An owner or employee preparing the company's statements performs no SSARS engagement, because AR-C 70 applies when an accountant in public practice is engaged to prepare statements; AR-C 70 also treats merely assisting in preparing them as a bookkeeping service outside the section.\n\nWhen an accountant is engaged to prepare the statements, AR-C 70 requires a written engagement letter, signed by the accountant or firm and by management, covering the objective, management's responsibilities, the agreement on the no-assurance statement or disclaimer, the accountant's responsibilities, the engagement's limitations, the applicable framework, and whether the statements will contain known departures or omit substantially all disclosures. Under AR-C 70, each page must state, at a minimum, that no assurance is provided; failing that, the accountant issues a disclaimer, performs a compilation or withdraws. AR-C 70 does not require the accountant to verify management's information, and has the accountant disclose any omission of substantially all disclosures in the statements or an accompanying disclaimer.\n\nWhen an accountant is engaged to compile them, AR-C 80 requires the accountant to determine independence and, if not independent, say so in the report's final paragraph, and to read the statements for whether they appear appropriate in form and free from obvious material misstatements. The written report AR-C 80 requires states management's responsibility; identifies the statements and the entity; specifies the date or period; states that SSARSs were followed and that the accountant did not audit or review, was not required to verify management's information and gives no opinion, conclusion or assurance; and carries the firm's signature, the city and state where the accountant practices, and the report date. AR-C 80's report requirements take this form, as amended by SSARS No. 26, for compilations of periods beginning on or after December 15, 2025; an accountant compiling an earlier period, such as calendar 2025, checks the version in force for it.\n\nBefore accepting any SSARS engagement, AR-C 60 requires the accountant to obtain management's agreement that it is responsible for selecting the framework, internal control over preparation (unless the accountant accepts that responsibility), preventing and detecting fraud, complying with laws and regulations, the accuracy and completeness of its records and explanations, and giving the accountant access to information and people. The records behind this checklist stay the business's responsibility on every path.\n\nNo SSARS governs how a business labels statements it prepares itself, so what follows is practice, not a requirement. Leave off any accountant's or firm's name, any report-style letter, and the words \"compiled\", \"reviewed\" and \"audited\". If a reader could assume an accountant was involved, say who prepared the statements, for example: \"Prepared by [Company] management. These statements have not been audited, reviewed or compiled by an accountant.\" An internal review or an outside accountant's informal read is not a review engagement; do not mention it on the statements.\n\nFor a lender, investor, franchisor or grantor, first get the requirement in writing: statements, basis, periods, deadline, and whether an accountant's compilation, review or audit is required. That answer decides whether a self-prepared set is acceptable at all; choosing among those service levels is a separate question.\n\n## Which basis are the statements prepared on, and how is it stated?\n\nAR-C 60 says preparing and fairly presenting statements requires identifying the applicable framework, preparing the statements under it, and including an adequate description of it. Besides GAAP, AR-C 60 recognizes special purpose frameworks: the cash basis, the tax basis (the basis the entity uses to file its tax return for the period), a regulatory basis, a contractual basis, and other bases with a definite set of logical, reasonable criteria. Its factors for whether a framework is acceptable include the nature of the entity, the purpose of the statements, whether they are a complete set or a single statement, and whether law or regulation prescribes the framework. Read the user's written requirement before choosing.\n\nAR-C 70 requires a special purpose basis to be described on the face of the statements or in a note. For a compilation, AR-C 80 has management acknowledge responsibility for a description of the framework, including a summary of significant accounting policies and how it differs from GAAP (the effects need not be quantified), plus informative disclosures similar to GAAP's for similar items; the report adds a paragraph stating that the basis is other than GAAP.\n\n| If the statements are presented | Then the checklist |\n|---|---|\n| On the basis the books are kept on | Needs no conversion step; the title and a note state the basis |\n| On a different basis from the books | Adds a conversion step with a bridge schedule from ledger to statements, kept in the file |\n| On a special purpose basis | Titles each statement with the basis and describes it in a note, including how it differs from GAAP |\n\n### How does a conversion bridge work?\n\nThe FASB's Concepts Statement 8, Chapter 1, describes accrual accounting as recording effects in the periods in which they occur, even if the cash moves in a different period; AR-C 60 defines the cash basis as recording cash receipts and disbursements, with modifications that have substantial support. Converting one year of cash-basis books to accrual-basis statements, with invented figures:\n\n| Bridge line | Revenue | Expenses |\n|---|---|---|\n| Cash-basis amounts from the books | 184,000.00 | 141,000.00 |\n| Less: invoices and bills open at January 1 | (12,500.00) | (6,400.00) |\n| Add: invoices and bills open at December 31 | 15,200.00 | 7,900.00 |\n| Accrual-basis amounts | 186,700.00 | 142,500.00 |\n\nNet income moves from 43,000.00 on the cash basis to 44,200.00 on the accrual basis. On the accrual basis, the January 1 items were last year's revenue and expense, held in opening equity, so collecting or paying them this year adds nothing; the December 31 items belong to this year. On the cash basis, none of these items is an opening balance, and each reaches revenue or expense when paid. Either way, each item reaches income once. If the prior year was never converted, the January 1 balances enter through a documented opening-equity adjustment, and any accrual comparative column needs the same conversion. A first conversion is a referral point; take it to a qualified professional before making the opening-equity adjustment. Inventory, prepaid expenses and depreciation get their own rows. Keep the conversion in a worksheet outside the cash-basis books, and the bridge in the file.\n\n## What are the preparation steps, in order?\n\nStart a step only when the one before it has passed its check:\n\n| Step | Before you start | Documents in hand | Check it must pass | Evidence left in the file |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| 1. Fix the deliverable | Users identified | User's written requirement | Statements, basis, periods, deadline recorded | The requirement |\n| 2. Confirm the record base | Period closed; reopened only to post step 3 adjustments, with the reopening recorded | Reconciliations with bank, card and loan statements; supplier statements and bills received after period end; receipts after period end; payroll reports | Trial balance balances; each balance-sheet account agrees to its reconciliation; no item for the period found in the after-period documents is missing from the ledger | Dated final trial balance |\n| 3. Post period-end adjustments | Step 2 passed | Support for each entry | Adjusted trial balance still balances | Adjustment list with support |\n| 4. Convert to the presentation basis (only if it differs from the books) | Adjustments posted; basis confirmed with the user | Opening and closing receivable, payable, inventory and prepaid listings; last period's bridge | Bridge starts at the ledger totals, ends at the figures mapped in the next step, and each row agrees to its listing | Bridge worksheet, kept outside the books |\n| 5. Map accounts to lines | Adjusted trial balance final | Last period's mapping | Every account mapped once; line totals equal the trial balance | Dated mapping version |\n| 6. Draft statements and notes | Mapping approved | Policies, loan agreements, leases, prior period-end balance sheet | The agreement checks below, except the prior-column check | Tie-out sheet |\n| 7. Add comparatives | Prior statements issued | Prior statements as issued | Prior column equals issued figures (last row of the checks table) | Prior set; change memo |\n| 8. Review | All checks pass | The whole file | Reviewer can re-derive each line | Sign-off and review notes |\n| 9. Issue and freeze | Review cleared | Final statements | Labels and basis description present; any legend or report the path requires | Final copy; file locked |\n\nAccounting software will produce a set that agrees with itself from any ledger, so the step 6 checks say nothing about whether the ledger is complete; only step 2 does, and only as far as the outside and after-period documents it checks.\n\n## Which supporting documents belong in the file for each statement area?\n\nThe IRS page \"What kind of records should I keep\" says supporting documents include sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips and canceled checks, that they contain the information you record in your books, and that you should organize them, for instance by year and type of income or expense. The AICPA's audit evidence standard, AU-C 500, notes that information generated internally from the general and subsidiary ledgers may need evidence of its accuracy and completeness. So each internal schedule should agree to the ledger and tie to an outside document where one exists:\n\n| Area | Outside documents | Internal schedules | What they substantiate |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Cash | Bank, card and processor statements at period end | Bank reconciliation | The balance exists; receipts and payments through the account are recorded |\n| Receivables and revenue | Contracts, invoices, deposit records, later receipts | Aged receivables | Sales in the right period; amounts collectible |\n| Inventory | Supplier invoices | Count sheets, costed listing | Quantities exist; cost supported |\n| Operating expenses | Paid bills, receipts, card statements, canceled checks, leases | Expense listing by account | Expenses belong to the period and the business |\n| Property and equipment | Purchase invoices, closing statements, titles | Asset register with depreciation | Ownership, cost, depreciation |\n| Payables and accruals | Supplier statements, bills received after period end | Aged payables, accrual workings | Liabilities complete at period end |\n| Debt | Lender statements, loan agreement | Amortization schedule | Balance, interest, terms for the notes |\n| Payroll liabilities | Payroll reports, filed payroll tax returns | Payroll reconciliation | Wages and withholdings owed |\n| Sales and other tax liabilities | Filed returns, taxing-authority statements | Tax payable reconciliation | Taxes owed at period end |\n| Equity | Formation documents, contribution and distribution records | Equity rollforward | Owner transactions kept out of income |\n\n## How are ledger accounts grouped into statement lines and kept the same each period?\n\nThe FASB's Concepts Statement 8, Chapter 7 (Presentation), says preparing statements requires aggregating data into meaningful line items, subtotals and totals, warns that too much aggregation loses useful information, and calls line items built from classes of items as nearly homogeneous as possible a critical aspect of presentation. Chapter 3 of the same Concepts Statement defines consistency as using the same methods for the same items from period to period, the means to the goal of comparability.\n\nRecord the mapping as its own schedule, containing:\n\n- Each account number and name, with the statement and line it feeds\n- The date the mapping took effect and who approved it\n- A log entry for every change: old line, new line, reason, and whether the prior column was changed to match\n\nMap any new account before the statements are run; an unmapped account stops the run. Change a grouping only for a recorded reason, apply it to every column presented, and explain it in a note. AR-C 80 defines a misstatement to include a classification that differs from the one the framework requires for fair presentation; correcting a wrong grouping in issued statements follows the rules for changed figures below.\n\n## Worked example: how does an adjusted trial balance become a set that agrees?\n\nHarbor Supply LLC (invented) keeps accrual-basis books and gives its lender statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for the year ended December 31, 2025. Its adjusted trial balance and mapping:\n\n| Account | Debit | Credit | Maps to |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| 1000 Operating checking | 18,400.00 | | Balance sheet: Cash |\n| 1010 Savings | 25,000.00 | | Balance sheet: Cash |\n| 1200 Accounts receivable | 21,300.00 | | Balance sheet: Accounts receivable |\n| 1300 Inventory | 30,200.00 | | Balance sheet: Inventory |\n| 1500 Equipment | 48,000.00 | | Balance sheet: Equipment, net |\n| 1510 Accumulated depreciation | | 14,400.00 | Balance sheet: Equipment, net |\n| 2000 Accounts payable | | 12,700.00 | Balance sheet: Accounts payable |\n| 2100 Accrued wages | | 3,100.00 | Balance sheet: Accrued liabilities |\n| 2500 Equipment loan | | 26,000.00 | Balance sheet: Equipment loan |\n| 3000 Members' equity, January 1 | | 55,400.00 | Equity statement: Opening balance |\n| 3100 Member distributions | 20,000.00 | | Equity statement: Distributions |\n| 4000 Sales | | 310,000.00 | Income statement: Revenue |\n| 5000 Cost of goods sold | 176,000.00 | | Income statement: Cost of sales |\n| 6000 Wages | 58,000.00 | | Income statement: Operating expenses |\n| 6100 Rent | 18,000.00 | | Income statement: Operating expenses |\n| 6200 Depreciation | 4,800.00 | | Income statement: Operating expenses |\n| 6300 Interest | 1,900.00 | | Income statement: Interest expense |\n| Total | 421,600.00 | 421,600.00 | |\n\nNet income is 51,300.00: revenue of 310,000.00 less cost of sales of 176,000.00, operating expenses of 80,800.00 and interest of 1,900.00. Total assets are 128,500.00: cash 43,400.00, receivables 21,300.00, inventory 30,200.00 and equipment, net 33,600.00.\n\nThe FASB's Concepts Statement 8, Chapter 7, says financial statements articulate with each other. Chapter 4 (Elements) makes equity the residual of assets less liabilities and counts every change in equity other than owners' investments and distributions as comprehensive income. For GAAP statements of an entity with restricted cash, Accounting Standards Update 2016-18 requires the cash flow statement to explain the change in total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash; where those sit on more than one balance sheet line, the amounts must sum to the period-end total the cash flow statement shows. Harbor has none, so ending cash on its cash flow statement must equal balance-sheet cash. The checks follow:\n\n| Check | Harbor Supply result | A failure points at |\n|---|---|---|\n| Trial balance debits equal credits | 421,600.00 on both sides | A posting error or unfinished close: return to step 2 |\n| Every account mapped once; mapped lines total the trial balance | 17 accounts, each on one line | A new unmapped account, or one mapped twice |\n| Assets equal liabilities plus equity | 128,500.00 = 41,800.00 + 86,700.00 | Net income not carried into equity, an account unmapped or mapped twice, or the trial balance out of balance |\n| Opening equity plus net income plus contributions less distributions equals closing equity | 55,400.00 + 51,300.00 − 20,000.00 = 86,700.00 | An equity account's movement missing from the equity statement, or opening equity that differs from last year's issued closing equity (take opening equity from the issued statements) |\n| Ending cash on the cash flow statement equals balance sheet cash | Opening cash 31,000.00 + net change in cash per the cash flow statement 12,400.00 = 43,400.00 | A cash account mapped elsewhere, or a noncash item left in the cash flows |\n| Prior column equals last year's issued statements | Opening equity 55,400.00 = last year's issued closing equity 55,400.00 | A change after issue, handled under the rules below |\n\nNeither the assets check nor the equity rollforward catches an owner transaction posted to income or expense, or an account mapped to the wrong line; compare contributions and distributions with the owner records (Equity row of the documents table), and compare the mapping with last period's.\n\nReconciling the balance sheet to the income statement in detail is a separate procedure.\n\n## What happens to comparative figures, and what if issued figures change?\n\nWhether a prior-period column is required follows from the framework and the user's requirement. The prior column must equal what was issued unless one of these applies. FASB Statement No. 154, as issued in May 2005, set the GAAP treatment summarized below; the FASB's Accounting Standards Update 2016-18 names the FASB Accounting Standards Codification as the source of authoritative GAAP, so confirm the current wording with a qualified professional before acting on any row.\n\n| If prior figures changed because | Then under FASB Statement No. 154 (as issued, 2005) |\n|---|---|\n| An error was found in issued statements | The prior-period statements are restated. The entity discloses that they were restated and the nature of the error, the effect on each line item (and any per-share amounts) for each prior period, the cumulative effect on retained earnings or other equity at the start of the earliest period presented, and the prior-period adjustment disclosures of APB Opinion No. 9. The Statement need not be applied to immaterial items; whether an error is material is a judgment to take to a qualified professional (see the referral list) |\n| The entity chose to change an accounting principle | A change is allowed only if the new principle is preferable. It is applied retrospectively, adjusting each prior period presented, unless determining the effects is impracticable as the Statement defines it, and the disclosures in its paragraph 17 are made, starting with the nature of and reason for the change |\n| A new accounting standard requires the change | Follow that standard's own transition provisions; Statement No. 154's retrospective method applies only if the standard has none |\n| An accounting estimate changed | No restatement: the change is accounted for in the period of change, and in future periods if it affects them |\n\nA regrouping that corrects an incorrect classification is an error correction (AU-C 708, the AICPA's auditing standard on consistency, treats it as correcting a misstatement) and follows the first row. Apply any other regrouping to every column presented and explain it in a note.\n\nOn a cash, tax or other special purpose basis, those GAAP rules do not govern directly; take any change to issued figures to a professional.\n\n## Who prepares, who reviews, and what stays in the file?\n\nWhere staffing allows, one person prepares and another reviews and signs off. An owner working alone should have an outside accountant read the file informally, or keep it complete enough for a later review.\n\nNo standard sets the file for a self-prepared set, but AU-C 230, the AICPA's audit documentation standard, is a workable model. It requires documentation that lets an experienced auditor with no previous connection to the work understand it; a record of who performed each piece of work and when, and who reviewed it, when and to what extent; and, for changes after the file is completed, the reasons and when and by whom they were made and reviewed. An accountant under AR-C 70 must document at least the engagement letter and a copy of the statements prepared, and may document significant consultations or judgments; under AR-C 80 the minimum adds a copy of the report.\n\nFreeze the file at issue, holding:\n\n- The statements and notes exactly as sent, with any legend or report\n- The user's written requirement and any engagement letter\n- The dated final and adjusted trial balances, each adjustment with its support, and any bridge\n- The mapping version used, with its change log, and the tie-out sheet\n- Reconciliations with the third-party statements behind them, and the documents behind the notes\n- The prior statements as issued, any restatement workings, and all sign-offs and review notes\n\nThe IRS page \"How long should I keep records?\" says how long to keep a document depends on the action, expense or event it records, that records supporting an item of income, deduction or credit on a tax return generally must be kept until that return's period of limitations runs out, and that your insurer or creditors may require records longer than the IRS does. Keep the statement file as long as the longest period that applies to the records it relies on.\n\n## When should a preparer stop and refer a matter to a qualified professional?\n\nStop and refer in these situations:\n\n- **The record base fails step 2.** Accounts that will not reconcile or missing records mean the books need repair or reconstruction first, a separate job.\n- **The user wants more than a self-prepared set.** A compilation, review or audit, or GAAP statements you have not prepared before, needs an accountant.\n- **The basis is in doubt.** Choosing a special purpose basis, a first conversion between bases, or a user who has not said which basis it accepts all need advice.\n- **Issued figures are wrong or a principle is changing.** Whether an error is material is a judgment, restatement and retrospective application carry disclosure rules, and the user already holds the old figures.\n- **A significant estimate or uncertainty exists.** AR-C 70 notes that statements may be misleading if their framework assumes the business is a going concern and uncertainties about its ability to continue are left undisclosed; write-downs, collectibility and legal claims belong here too.\n- **An employed CPA will present the statements to outsiders.** Whether professional ethics rules add requirements is a question for that CPA's own adviser.",
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      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-27T23:41:38+00:00",
      "sha256": "9771f18787127c7c2ad61286d8426b39ca3ea2de3e95954876d44bbef73e56db",
      "supports": [
        "C36",
        "C37",
        "C38",
        "C91"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "REF::10",
      "url": "https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records",
      "title": "How long should I keep records?",
      "publisher": "Internal Revenue Service",
      "published": "Page last reviewed or updated 30-Jun-2026",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-27T23:41:38+00:00",
      "sha256": "2be4685f201b2d6903cb116e6fd8c41907f73ca603a21cb3274a3ebd3a4d256c",
      "supports": [
        "C73",
        "C74",
        "C90"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    {
      "question_id": "CG-P1B-FULL-051",
      "slug": "what-a-checklist-for-reviewing-financial-statements-should-contain",
      "display_title": "What should a checklist for reviewing already-prepared financial statements — including a balance sheet — contain?"
    },
    {
      "question_id": "CG-P1B-FULL-042",
      "slug": "how-to-reconstruct-the-books-when-the-records-are-incomplete",
      "display_title": "How do I reconstruct the books and prepare financial statements when the underlying records are incomplete?"
    },
    {
      "question_id": "CG-MCE-114",
      "slug": "what-reviewed-or-audited-financial-statements-are-and-when-a-lender-needs-them",
      "display_title": "My lender asked for reviewed or audited financial statements — what's the difference from the statements I already produce, and what do I actually need?"
    },
    {
      "question_id": "CG-P1B-FULL-101",
      "slug": "how-to-reconcile-the-balance-sheet-to-the-income-statement",
      "display_title": "How do I reconcile the balance sheet to the income statement?"
    }
  ],
  "review_class": "consequential",
  "review_class_trigger": "pre_publication_professional_review_required",
  "provenance": {
    "author_model": "claude-opus-5-5",
    "reviewer_model": "claude-opus-5-5",
    "review_verdict": "ACCEPT",
    "review_source": "closure",
    "review_verdict_on_sha256": "adb33a84348bc0f764c87df4a3f73756b0ddf7d736729c1c4885ed8bd1248ed1",
    "editorial_disposition": "ACCEPT",
    "corrections": 1,
    "approved_by": null,
    "approved_at": null,
    "article_sha256": "adb33a84348bc0f764c87df4a3f73756b0ddf7d736729c1c4885ed8bd1248ed1",
    "source_map_sha256": "f442fa278306fae8a2f3e1d5462045c59f9e030571a5b893290589a06945ead8",
    "transform_sha256": "27f24cdbd8bb09217784d5314da44f69593cb3d7544b110406821072dd8aaa97"
  },
  "offer": "ask",
  "offer_id": null,
  "sample_target_id": null,
  "datePublished": "2026-09-28T18:39:45Z",
  "reviewed_at": "2026-09-28T18:39:45Z",
  "content_sha": "918bc5331583b302b6701c947799364f7001912da4a4ab05e9ce491cb20e1202",
  "release": "2.12.0",
  "slug_provenance": "minted at first publication",
  "question_text": "What steps and supporting documents belong on a checklist for preparing or compiling a set of financial statements?",
  "jsonld_types": [
    "Article"
  ],
  "related_question_ids": [
    "CG-P1B-FULL-051",
    "CG-P1B-FULL-042",
    "CG-P1B-014",
    "CG-MCE-114",
    "CG-P1B-FULL-101",
    "CG-MCE-099"
  ],
  "aliases": [],
  "alias_provenance": [],
  "notice": "This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm with a qualified professional before acting."
}