Improve Your Work Flow: Automate

By Ronald D. Kranzler, CPA, and Stephen Barrett, CPA, CITP
April 20, 2006
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For example, this means a generic but commonly used footnote will be written by designated members of a firm. That individual footnote is then edited and technically reviewed, resulting in an error-free, grammatically and stylistically correct, firm-approved footnote that can be dropped into a client’s financial statement (when necessary) by the simple click of a button. In many cases, firms opt to import PPC footnotes and opinions to use as the foundation for their knowledge library. This expedites the development of the knowledge library and maintains the consistency of firm standards and procedures if they were using PPC (or AICPA) to begin with.

The knowledge library can always be added to, allowing for the customization of client- or situation-specific disclosures. Such additional notes would be retained in the library for future use, sparing preparers and reviewers from having to re-craft these statements each time the note is needed.

How does it work?
Automation of financial statements requires two primary components: a centralized knowledge library and a client datasheet.

A centralized content library is a storage location for pre-edited, pre-approved and firm-standard footnotes, opinions, line item headings and formatting details. All content is edited and approved by all partners prior to being included in the library, which guarantees no errors are present. Staff accountants simply select the appropriate note from a list and a typo-free, up-to-date version of the note is automatically inserted into the proper financial statement location.

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