What it is
A lead schedule summarizes the accounts in one financial statement area, ties them to the trial balance, carries the audit adjustments and points to the supporting working papers.
This workbook computes adjusted balances and year-on-year change with formulas and includes a tickmark legend sheet.
When to use it
- For each audit area: cash, receivables, inventory, fixed assets, payables, debt, equity, revenue, expenses.
- As the index point for analytical review of the area.
What’s inside
- Account number, name and working paper reference
- Prior year final, current year per TB, AJEs, RJEs, current year final
- $ and % change with a column for the explanation
- Totals that tie to the trial balance
- Tickmark legend sheet
Standard cited
This template follows AU-C 230 documentation. 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 230 explained.
Questions
What is the difference between an AJE and an RJE?
An adjusting journal entry (AJE) corrects a misstatement and changes net income or net assets. A reclassifying entry (RJE) moves amounts between accounts for presentation without changing totals.
Does the lead schedule need to tie to the trial balance?
Yes. The unadjusted column should agree to the client’s trial balance and the final column to the adjusted trial balance and the financial statements.
Related templates
- Summary of Uncorrected Misstatements (AU-C 450)
- Fixed Asset Rollforward (Excel)
- Bank Reconciliation Template (Excel)
Last updated 11/04/2026. All free templates.