Audit Kickoff Meeting Agenda for the Client: Timeline, Roles and Deliverables

The first meeting sets the pace for the audit. A one-hour agenda that fixes dates, names and formats saves weeks later. The firm runs the meeting with the owner, the finance lead and anyone who handles payroll, inventory or tax. Bring the engagement letter, the draft PBC list and a calendar.

What the kickoff is for, under the standards

The planning standard (AU-C 300, with ISA 300 as the international counterpart) requires the auditor to establish an overall audit strategy that sets the scope, timing and direction of the audit, and to develop an audit plan from it. In setting the strategy the auditor identifies what defines the scope of the engagement, finds out the reporting objectives so the timing and required communications can be planned, and works out the resources needed. The auditor updates both documents as the audit proceeds.

The kickoff is where the client supplies the inputs: the date the report is needed, who receives it, and what changed in the business. ISA 300 also states that the auditor may discuss elements of planning with management, for example to coordinate procedures with the client's staff, but the strategy and plan remain the auditor's responsibility. It adds a limit: discussing the nature and timing of detailed procedures with management can make the audit predictable and less effective. So expect the firm to share dates, logistics and the PBC list, and to hold back which accounts and items will be tested. See unpredictability in audit procedures.

For a small entity, ISA 300 notes that the strategy need not be complex. A brief memorandum, updated through discussions with the owner-manager, can serve as the documented strategy. That is why a short meeting with the owner matters.

Agenda

1. Scope and framework. The financial statements, periods and reporting framework, and who will receive the report. These match the terms in the engagement letter: the objective and scope of the audit, the responsibilities of the auditor and of management, the framework and the expected form of the report. See the audit engagement letter.
2. Report date. The date the lender or investor needs the audit, working backward.
3. Business changes. New customers, products, locations, debt, leases, acquisitions, systems and staff since last year.
4. Risks the client sees. Areas of judgment, complex transactions and any known errors.
5. PBC list. Walk through each section, due dates and the file format. See revenue and expenses.
6. Confirmations. Banks, customers, vendors and lenders, and who authorizes the requests. See audit confirmations.
7. Fieldwork logistics. Dates, workspace, system access, and the inventory count date.
8. Communication. One contact per side, a weekly status call, an issues log, and how to report fraud concerns.
9. Management representations. What the representation letter will say and who signs.

Who does what

Management agrees in the engagement terms to give the auditor access to all relevant information and unrestricted access to people in the business from whom evidence is needed. The kickoff is where that becomes a named person and a response time.

Worked timeline 1: April 30 report

The lender needs the audit report on a fixed date, call it day 0. The firm backs out in weeks, using week 0 for the report week.

Total: six weeks from lock date to report. If the books lock at week 6, the lock date is 42 days before April 30, which is March 19. A client that locks on March 31 has lost 12 days, so either the report date moves or review and fieldwork compress. Put the dates in writing in the meeting minutes.

Worked timeline 2: June 30 report, same pattern

The same six weeks applied to a June 30 report date:

• Lock date: 42 days before June 30, which is May 19.
• PBC items due: 35 days before, which is May 26.
• Fieldwork begins: 28 days before, which is June 2.
• Partner review: 14 days before, which is June 16.
• Draft statements to the client: 7 days before, which is June 23.

A client whose busy season falls in these weeks should say so at the kickoff. If payroll, inventory counts or a sales campaign fill the same two weeks as fieldwork, move fieldwork, not the report date.

After the meeting

Send minutes within two days with the dates, the owners and the open questions. Update the PBC tracker. See PBC request tracking. The overall flow of the engagement is in the financial statement audit process and timeline.

Common errors

• Agreeing a report date without asking when the books will be final.
• Naming a department rather than a person as the contact.
• Sending the PBC list the day before fieldwork starts.
• Leaving confirmation authorizations until fieldwork, which adds weeks for replies.
• Skipping the discussion of changes in the business, so a new system or acquisition surfaces late.

Sources

• International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, ISA 300 Planning an Audit of Financial Statements (paragraphs 7 to 10, A3 and A11; AU-C 300 is the US counterpart): https://www.ifac.org/_flysystem/azure-private/publications/files/A016%202013%20IAASB%20Handbook%20ISA%20300.pdf
• International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, ISA 210 Agreeing the Terms of Audit Engagements (paragraphs 6 and 10; AU-C 210 is the US counterpart): https://www.ifac.org/_flysystem/azure-private/publications/files/A009%202013%20IAASB%20Handbook%20ISA%20210.pdf
• American Institute of CPAs, AICPA Professional Standards (AU-C 300 Planning an Audit, AU-C 210 Terms of Engagement): https://www.aicpa-cima.com/resources/landing/aicpa-professional-standards

CORAA prepares ready-to-review audit files for US CPA firms from QuickBooks books; you review and sign. See /us.

AU-C references are to AICPA Professional Standards, paraphrased here; read the standard itself before relying on a requirement. This page is guidance, not professional advice. Report an error