Business preparation guide · 29 October 2026
What affects an audit quotation and timetable?
Use this guide to prepare a focused business enquiry and agree a useful professional engagement. It covers information gathering and project planning. Entity-specific tax, legal and accounting conclusions require qualified review of the facts and current requirements.
What information makes audit quotations comparable?
Give each proposed auditor the same entity details, year-end, ledger status, reporting purpose and expected deliverables. Ask which assumptions affect the fee and which services are excluded, such as bookkeeping cleanup, tax work or separate reporting packs.
Why can audit timing depend on records readiness?
Audit planning needs a realistic view of available evidence. Unreconciled accounts, missing contracts and unanswered management questions can affect the work sequence. Agree dates for providing records and resolving questions alongside the desired report date.
How should additional audit work be approved?
Ask the engagement letter to explain how changes in scope are identified, priced and approved. A written change process helps distinguish newly discovered work from the original scope and gives management a chance to discuss priorities.
What audit milestones should management track?
Track engagement acceptance, initial records delivery, first query list, management responses, draft accounts review and final report readiness. Assign an owner for each milestone. Keep external submission dates separate from the team's internal working timetable.
Turn the discussion into an agreed scope
Write down the objective, the entity and period involved, the information already available and the decisions still needed. Ask the proposed engagement team to identify the next information request and the person responsible for each response. Keep technical assumptions separate from verified facts.
Before work starts, confirm the deliverables, review process, fees and exclusions in writing. Ask how additional work will be approved and how confidential documents will be exchanged. This preparation supports an informed proposal; it does not determine the business’s legal or tax position.
Authoritative reference
Consult the relevant authority or reporting-standard source for current requirements. This guide provides preparation steps and does not reproduce the authority’s full rules.
Prepared by DSB Chartered Accountants LLC Technical positions, calculations, thresholds and filing decisions should be reviewed by the appointed professional for the relevant period.
Discuss the scope with our Statutory audit enquiries team.