Audit process

How an engagement moves from letter to opinion

Financial auditing here is calendar-bound work: confirmations take weeks, inventory counts need floor time, and draft reports need clearance. This page shows the sequence we follow for a typical annual statement audit.

Desk with signed documents, pen, and reading glasses during audit planning

Before fieldwork

Scoping and the engagement letter

We ask for your fiscal year-end, reporting framework, prior auditor contact (for first-year work), and a draft trial balance if available. Materiality, locations to visit, and the reporting deadline are agreed in writing. A thirty-percent deposit confirms the letter and reserves the fieldwork window.

Stages of the annual audit

  1. 1

    Planning memorandum

    Risk assessment against significant accounts, related parties, and prior adjustments. We share a document request list so your team can gather bank letters, contracts, and inventory instructions before we arrive.

  2. 2

    Interim procedures (when booked)

    Optional mid-year balance review reduces year-end pressure. Cut-off and reconciliation issues surface while there is still time to correct the ledgers.

  3. 3

    Year-end fieldwork

    On-site testing of samples, observation of inventory counts when stock is material, and follow-up on bank and receivable confirmations. Queries are logged daily so your finance team is not flooded on the final afternoon.

  4. 4

    Draft report and management letter

    You review proposed adjustments and control observations. We discuss presentation in the notes to the financial statements before anything is signed.

  5. 5

    Signed auditor’s report

    After clearance, we issue the opinion and archive working papers according to Japanese professional retention norms. Final invoices reflect any scope changes agreed during fieldwork.

What we need from you

  • Access to ledgers and supporting schedules
  • A contact who can authorise bank confirmations
  • Count instructions if inventory will be observed
  • Prior-year statements and management letters

What we handle

  • Confirmation design and follow-up
  • Sample selection and testing worksheets
  • Drafting of the auditor’s report
  • Coordination with your tax adviser on book-tax bridges (when asked)

Align this process with your year-end

Browse engagement types or write to us with your close date. We will propose a timetable that leaves room for confirmations.

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