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Use cases/First-year audits

First-year audit lead schedules.

A first-year file has no prior working papers to roll forward. CORAA builds the lead schedules from scratch and lists opening balances that differ from the prior closing.

How it runs

  1. 01
    Send two periods of books

    Current and prior trial balances, the ledger and the prior-period statements.

  2. 02
    CORAA builds the lead schedules

    Each account is mapped and carried with current balance, prior balance and movement.

  3. 03
    Opening balances are laid out

    Opening balances are compared with the prior closing balances. Differences are listed for the reviewer.

  4. 04
    You communicate and conclude

    Your team handles successor communications and concludes on the opening balances.

What comes back

Lead schedules
Built for every account with prior-year comparison.
Opening balance schedule
Differences between the prior closing and the current opening balances.
Flux and flags
Accounts that moved against the prior year, each flag naming the rule that raised it.

What stays with your firm

Your firm keeps the client, the review and the signature. CORAA AI drafts the file and CORAA Network reviewers clear every flag with a logged reason; your manager and partner then review it as they would any staff-prepared file. CORAA never signs, issues or reports on anything, and never contacts your client unless you ask us to.

Free resources for this work

Guides, templates and calculators on this site that cover the same ground. All free to use.

GuideFirst-Year Audits and Opening Balances: AU-C 510, Predecessor Workpapers and ComparativesStandardAU-C 510: Opening Balances: Initial Audit Engagements and Predecessor AuditorsGuidePredecessor and Successor Auditors: Communications, Workpaper Access and Consent (AU-C 510 and the AICPA Code)TemplatePredecessor Auditor Communication LettersGuideLead Schedule in Audit: Structure, Tie-Outs and a Worked ExampleTemplateLead Schedule Template (Excel)ToolFlux (variance) analysis calculator with threshold flags and CSV

Questions firms ask

No. Communications with the predecessor are your firm’s. The letter template on this site is a starting point.
The file shows the opening balance differences, and your team decides the procedures needed.
The mapping carries the two periods side by side from the trial balance exports. Books kept in QuickBooks are the supported starting point today; other sources are settled on the intake call.
Your reviewer. CORAA lays out the evidence.
Your first audit is free. After that, a flat fee per audit, set by the size of the entity: revenue, transactions and number of entities. Messy books are included, never a surcharge.

Sources: AICPA Statements on Auditing Standards, currently effective

More in use cases
Use casesNew engagement onboardingTake on a new client with the planning file already started.Use casesTrial balance mappingEvery account classified to a US GAAP line, and exported to your tool.Use casesBusy-season overflowSend the files your team cannot reach and get back finished working papers.
For US CPA firms

Join the CORAA waitlist

CORAA AI drafts audit working papers from your client’s QuickBooks books and does the first pass: lead schedules, tie-out, memos, draft notes and letters. CORAA Network reviewers clear every finding. Your firm reviews and signs.

  • First audit free, so you can judge the quality on a real file
  • Flat fee by entity size; messy books included
  • We work only with CPA firms, never their clients
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