What it is
The allowance for credit losses rolls from the beginning balance through provision, write-offs and recoveries to the ending balance. The rollforward is the schedule the credit loss note is built from, and the schedule the auditor agrees to the ledger.
This workbook runs the rollforward by portfolio, compares each ending balance with the output of your expected credit loss model, and computes the true-up. Ratios by portfolio, tie-outs to the balance sheet, general ledger, provision and write-offs, and a balanced true-up journal entry complete the file.
When to use it
- At each close, to support the allowance and the provision.
- After running the credit loss model, to book the true-up to the required balance.
- During an audit, to reconcile the allowance to the model and to the ledger.
What’s inside
- Rollforward tab: 10 portfolios with provision, write-offs, recoveries, other and ending allowance
- Model comparison with the true-up needed for each portfolio
- Ratios tab: allowance percent of gross, net write-off ratio and coverage
- Tie-out to balance sheet, ledger, income statement provision and subledger write-offs
- Journal entry tab with a balance check
Standard cited
This template follows ASC 326. It is written in our own words, except for phrases the standard requires the document to contain, with [bracketed placeholders] for client details, amounts in USD and dates as MM/DD/YYYY. Check it against the current standard and your firm’s methodology before use.
Questions
Where do recoveries go?
Recoveries of amounts previously written off increase the allowance in the rollforward. They are not netted against the current-period provision. Enter them in the Recoveries column as positive amounts.
What is the Other column for?
Items that move the allowance but are not provision, write-offs or recoveries: allowances on purchased assets with credit deterioration, acquired balances and foreign currency effects. Enter them signed.
Does this workbook calculate the allowance?
No. The required balance is an input from your loss model, such as a loss-rate or aging workbook. This file rolls the allowance, tests agreement with the model and drafts the entry.
Who approves the true-up entry?
Management approves the estimate and the entry. The auditor evaluates the model and its inputs, not the entry alone. The journal entry tab is a proposed entry for review.
Related templates
- Accounts Receivable Aging and Allowance Workpaper
- Disclosure Checklist: Credit Losses (ASC 326)
- Fixed Asset Rollforward (Excel)
- Lead Schedule Template (Excel)
Last updated 11/05/2026. All free templates.