A PBC list your client can work through before fieldwork
PBC stands for "prepared by client" (some firms say "provided by client"). A PBC list is the audit request list: every schedule, reconciliation and document the audit team needs from the client, and the date it needs them.
If you have just been handed one, this is what it is. Before fieldwork starts, the audit team sends the client a list of what to prepare. The client's accounting staff build the schedules and pull the documents; the auditors test them. Everything on the list is something the client already has or can produce from its own records. The auditor's job is to test it, not to build it.
Last reviewed against 2 primary sources.
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PBC list template
The full audit request list as a printable PDF, as an Excel workbook, and as a CSV for Google Sheets, so you can add owners, due dates and status columns.
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Pick the industry, audit or review, and the fieldwork date, and get a dated PBC request list as Excel or CSV. Nothing you type is stored.
Next step: send this list to the client as a request list in FirmHello. They upload against each line, and reminders chase whatever is still open.
Get startedThe list is the working form of a promise the client made in the engagement letter. Under AU-C 210, the auditor obtains management's agreement that it will provide access to all information relevant to the financial statements, any additional information the auditor requests, and unrestricted access to the people who can answer questions. The audit engagement letter records that agreement. The PBC list turns it into dates.
Most audits slip in the same place. The list goes out as a spreadsheet attached to an email, the client sends back half of it, and the first week of fieldwork is spent finding out which half. A PBC list that names each item precisely, gives it an owner and a due date, and says why it is needed gets a better first return. Sending it from a secure client portal for accountants rather than as an attachment also keeps the payroll registers, tax returns and bank statements it asks for out of email.
The PBC list
Grouped by audit area, in the order most teams test them. Cut the groups that do not apply, add the period-end date to every line, and agree the due dates with the client's controller before you send it. Every schedule should agree to the trial balance.
General and governance
- Year-end trial balance and general ledger detail, after all closing entries Every other schedule on this list should agree to it. Ask for it first and in a format you can import.
- Prior-year audit adjustments, and confirmation they are posted
- Organization chart and a list of key staff with their responsibilities
- Minutes of board, owners' and committee meetings for the year and since year-end The team reads minutes held after year-end as part of its subsequent events work, so ask for those too, and for a summary of any meeting whose minutes are not yet written.
- Articles, bylaws or operating agreement, with any amendments made this year
- Significant contracts signed or amended during the year
- Chart of accounts, and any accounts added or closed this year
- Access to the accounting system, or the reports we name, with the run date and parameters AU-C 500 has the auditor obtain evidence that information the entity produces is accurate and complete. A report that shows how it was run is easier to test than a spreadsheet copied from it.
Cash
- Bank reconciliations for every account at year-end, with the statements
- The bank statement for the month after year-end, for each account It shows which outstanding checks and deposits in transit actually cleared.
- List of all bank, investment and loan accounts, with contact details for each institution The auditors send and receive confirmations themselves: AU-C 505 has them keep control of the requests. The client's part is the contact list and the authorization, not the mailing.
- Signed authorization for the bank confirmations, if the bank requires one
- Petty cash count or reconciliation at year-end, if material
Receivables and revenue
- Aged accounts receivable listing at year-end, agreed to the ledger
- Customer names and addresses for the receivables confirmations
- Allowance for doubtful accounts, with the calculation and write-offs for the year
- Cash received after year-end against year-end receivables
- Revenue by stream and by month, compared with last year
- Contracts for the largest customers, and any with new or unusual terms
- Credit notes and returns issued after year-end A large credit in January can mean December's sale should not have been recorded.
- Deferred revenue and customer deposits schedule
Inventory
- Count instructions and the date and locations of the physical count When inventory is material, AU-C 501 has the auditor attend the count unless that is impracticable, so the team needs the date early enough to plan around it.
- Final priced inventory listing, agreed to the ledger
- Inventory held by third parties or on consignment, with the holder's contact details
- Reserve for slow-moving or obsolete stock, with the method
- Last receiving and shipping documents before and after the count, for cutoff
- Standard cost or overhead allocation workpapers, if costs are capitalized
Fixed assets, leases and other assets
- Fixed asset roll-forward, from opening cost and depreciation to closing
- Invoices for additions over [amount], and support for disposals
- Depreciation calculation and the policy for each asset class
- Lease schedule, with each lease's term, payments and discount rate Under ASC 842, a lessee recognizes on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities its leases create. Ask for the lease agreements behind the schedule, and any new or modified leases.
- Prepaid expenses schedule, with the invoices behind the largest items
- Deposits, intangible assets and other assets, with support for each balance
Payables, accruals and debt
- Aged accounts payable listing at year-end, agreed to the ledger
- Payments made after year-end, for the search for unrecorded liabilities This is how liabilities missing from payables are found, so the register should run to the date fieldwork starts.
- Schedule of accrued expenses, with the calculation for each
- Loan and line-of-credit agreements, and any amendments this year
- Debt schedule with balances, interest rates and maturities, agreed to lender statements
- Covenant calculations for the year, and any waivers
Equity
- Equity roll-forward for the year
- Share or membership register, and changes during the year
- Support for distributions, dividends and capital contributions
- Stock option or equity award schedule, if any
Payroll
- Payroll register summary for the year, agreed to the ledger
- Quarterly payroll tax returns and the annual W-2 and W-3 totals
- Accrued payroll, bonuses and paid time off at year-end, with the calculations
- Benefit plan contributions and the related reconciliations
- Officer compensation, and employment agreements for key staff
Income and other taxes
- Last filed federal and state income tax returns
- Income tax provision workpapers, current and deferred, if applicable
- Sales and use tax returns for the year, reconciled to the ledger
- Property tax bills and any notices or correspondence from tax authorities
Related parties, legal matters and subsequent events
- List of related parties, with changes from last year AU-C 550 has the auditor ask management who the related parties are and what changed since the prior period. A written list answers that once.
- Transactions and balances with related parties during the year
- List of outside legal counsel used during the year, with contact details
- Legal expense account detail and invoices from outside counsel AU-C 501 has the auditor review both. The legal letter itself is prepared by management and sent by the auditor.
- Description of any litigation, claims or assessments, open or threatened
- Latest interim financial statements after year-end
- Significant events after year-end, such as new debt, lawsuits or major contracts
Before you use this
Supplied as-is, with no guarantee. These templates are general information, not legal advice, and not a substitute for it. Have your own legal adviser review and adapt one to your practice and your jurisdiction before you put it in front of a client. FirmHello accepts no responsibility or liability for any use made of them.
How to run a PBC list
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1
Send it before planning, not before fieldwork
The client needs weeks, not days, for a fixed asset roll-forward or a lease schedule. Send the list when you agree the timetable, and put the fieldwork date in the covering note.
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2
Give every item an owner and a date
A PBC list with one due date for everything gets answered in the order that suits the client. Stagger the dates: the trial balance and bank reconciliations first, the tax provision last.
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3
Say what "done" looks like
"Fixed asset schedule" gets you a depreciation report. "Fixed asset roll-forward from opening cost to closing, agreed to the trial balance" gets you what you test. The item wording is the spec.
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4
Track it in one place
Mark items received, reviewed or returned with a question, and send the client the open items weekly. The partner should be able to see the status without asking the senior.
Where PBC lists go wrong
Last year's list, resent
The client sold a division, signed two leases and refinanced. A list copied from last year asks for things that no longer exist and misses what is new, which is where the risk is.
Schedules that do not tie
A receivables aging that is off from the ledger by a few thousand dollars costs a day of back-and-forth. Ask in the item wording for every schedule to agree to the trial balance, and check that before anyone tests it.
The client sending confirmations
Helpful clients sometimes mail the confirmations themselves. Under AU-C 505 the auditor controls the requests and the replies come back to the auditor, so say on the list what the client should and should not send.
Sending a PBC list as a request list
A PBC list is what FirmHello calls a request list. Each line becomes an item the client's staff upload against, with its note attached, and the reminders go out on the schedule you set until the item arrives. The controller and the audit senior see the same open items, so "what is still outstanding" has one answer instead of two spreadsheets. Confirmations and the legal letter stay outside it: they go from you to the third party and back. More on how it works for audit teams on the client portal for accounting firms page.
Questions about PBC lists
What does PBC mean in accounting?
Prepared by client, or provided by client. It marks a schedule or document the client produces for the auditor, as opposed to one the audit team prepares. A PBC list, PBC request or audit request list is the full list of those items for one engagement.
Who prepares the items on a PBC list?
The client's accounting team, usually led by the controller or finance manager. The auditor decides what goes on the list and tests what comes back. If the audit firm ends up building a schedule for the client, that is separate work to agree and bill, not a PBC item.
When should a PBC list be sent?
When the timetable is agreed, well before fieldwork, so the client has time to build the schedules rather than rush them. Items that need the year to close, such as the final trial balance, get a later due date than items that exist already, such as contracts and minutes.
Is the management representation letter on the PBC list?
Not usually. AU-C 580 has the written representations dated as of the date of the auditor's report, so the letter is signed at the end of the audit, not collected before fieldwork. See the management representation letter for the wording.
Can the client send confirmations for us?
No. The auditor keeps control of confirmation requests under AU-C 505, from choosing the confirming party to sending the requests and any follow-ups, and the replies go straight to the auditor. The client supplies contact details and signs any authorization the bank needs.
Can I use this PBC list as it stands?
It is a starting point supplied as-is. Tailor it to the client's industry, size and risks, and to your firm's audit methodology, and have the engagement partner review it before it goes out.
Sources
The primary sources this page is written against, last read against it on . Check them before relying on a detail; rules and thresholds change.
What changed
- Added an Excel (.xlsx) copy of the checklist beside the PDF and CSV.
Send the list once, and let it chase
Each line becomes something the client uploads against. Reminders go out on your schedule until the list is complete, and every file lands in the client's vault.
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