The Question That Held Up a Filing
One credit in the bank statement, large and unexplained, and nobody knows what it is. The article asked. The answer came back as a voice note that no one can find in December.
Two kinds of question, one place
To the client
What is this receipt, whose is this vehicle, why is there no invoice for this payment. The question sits on the job with the date it was asked.
From the reviewer to the preparer
The manager marks what the article must fix before it goes further. It is not a WhatsApp message at ten at night, and it does not get lost.
The answer stays with the question
Typed in, or a scan of what the client sent, so next year when the same entry appears last year’s answer is on last year’s job.
Old and still open
A query left unanswered long enough to put the filing at risk is flagged. Somebody then picks up a phone. That is what was needed all along.
Why it matters in an audit
The register is the record of what was asked and what the client said.
- Every query on an assignment, open and closed, in one list
- Who asked, who answered, and on what date
- Queries carried forward when a point is not settled this year
- The reviewer’s points, ticked off before the job moves on
Where the line is drawn
It records, it does not judge
Whether an answer is good enough, whether more evidence is needed and what goes in the report are matters for the chartered accountant signing. The register holds the trail and nothing beyond it.
It needs a habit
A firm where questions stay on WhatsApp will have an empty register. The article has to type the question here first, and that habit takes a few weeks to build.
Frequently asked questions
Can the client answer a query himself?
Yes, through his portal login, and he can attach a document with the answer. An answer typed there does not have to be copied out of a WhatsApp thread in December.
Can a query be raised without being sent to the client?
Yes. Internal queries from a reviewer to an article are marked internal. The client never sees them.
What happens to open queries when a job is filed?
They stay on the job, and the register carries them to next year’s job where a point is not settled. Nothing is closed by the filing itself.
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