What it is
Materiality for the financial statements as a whole, performance materiality and the clearly trivial threshold drive sample sizes, the scope of testing and the evaluation of misstatements. This worksheet puts the benchmark choice, the percentage, the rounding and the rationale in one place, so a reviewer sees how every number was reached.
AU-C 320 sets no percentages, so the percentage ranges are inputs from your firm methodology and nothing is pre-filled. A Final tab recalculates materiality on the final benchmark, flags a change beyond your trigger, and tests accumulated uncorrected misstatements against materiality and performance materiality.
When to use it
- At planning, to document materiality before risk assessment procedures are finalized.
- At completion, to reassess materiality against final results and evaluate uncorrected misstatements.
- For any audit where specific materiality is needed for a class of transactions, a balance or a disclosure.
What’s inside
- Six benchmarks with a firm percentage range for each and a calculated range of materiality
- Selected benchmark and percentage with a range check and a rationale field
- Performance materiality and clearly trivial threshold with an order check
- Specific materiality table with performance materiality for each item
- Final tab: revision test and an uncorrected misstatements evaluation
Standard cited
This template follows AU-C 320 / AU-C 450. 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. See AU-C 320 explained, AU-C 450 explained.
Questions
Does the auditing standard say which percentage to use?
No. AU-C 320 requires the auditor to determine materiality for the financial statements as a whole and performance materiality, using professional judgment, but it does not prescribe benchmarks or percentages. Firms set ranges in their methodology. This worksheet takes your range as an input and checks the selected percentage against it.
What is performance materiality for?
It is an amount set lower than materiality to reduce, to an appropriately low level, the probability that uncorrected and undetected misstatements in total exceed materiality for the financial statements as a whole. It is used to design and perform procedures, including sample sizes.
Do I have to revise materiality during the audit?
Yes if information becomes available that would have caused a different amount to be set at the start. AU-C 320 requires the auditor to revise materiality for the financial statements as a whole, and performance materiality if applicable, in that case. The Final tab flags a change beyond the trigger you choose.
What happens to misstatements below the clearly trivial threshold?
They do not have to be accumulated. AU-C 450 asks the auditor to accumulate misstatements identified during the audit other than those clearly trivial. The auditor sets the threshold, and the Final tab shows which entered items fall below it.
Related templates
- Audit Planning Memo (AU-C 300)
- Summary of Uncorrected Misstatements (AU-C 450)
- Audit Risk Assessment Worksheet (SAS 145)
- Audit Completion and File Review Checklist (AU-C 230 / AU-C 700)
Last updated 11/05/2026. All free templates.