How our audit trail process works

Trail work fails when scope is vague or extracts arrive late. Our process keeps both visible. Use this page to brief internal stakeholders before requesting an engagement.

Stages

1. Intake

We collect entity list, ledger systems, retention policies, and the questions your auditors or committee care about. You leave with a written scope draft and estimate factors — not a vague proposal deck.

2. Access & extracts

Your IT grants read-only access or supplies agreed exports. We document what arrived, what is missing, and any calendar impact. Work does not begin on incomplete extracts without an explicit client decision.

3. Baseline

For continuous monitoring, we observe two weeks of trail activity to set materiality thresholds and reduce noise. For reconstructions, we build the chronology skeleton before deep-diving exceptions.

4. Steady review

Weekly digests (monitoring) or progressive findings lists (projects). You get named contacts and a standing slot for clarification — we do not dump unexplained flags.

5. Walkthrough & pack

Monthly or end-of-engagement sessions translate findings into language suitable for controllers, internal audit, and external auditors. Deliverables include editable working papers and a locked pack for the file.

6. Close or renew

Projects close with a short lessons note. Retainers renew with a threshold reset if systems or entity counts changed.

What we ask of your team

A finance owner who can explain unusual postings within two business days
IT cooperation on extracts within the dates in the engagement letter
Honest disclosure of known control incidents in the period

What we refuse to do

We will not alter trail evidence, backfill approvals that did not occur, or write narratives that contradict the logs. If that boundary does not fit your situation, we will decline the engagement.

Ready to start intake? Contact the Sheung Wan desk.

Audit process