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Keep audit requests organised from first list to sign-off
Turn the auditor's request list into a shared tracker with owners and due dates, plus a weekly status summary that shows what's still open.
When to use it
From audit planning until sign-off
Step by step
Turn the request list into a tracker
Paste the auditor's request list into your AI assistant with this prompt, then copy the result into a shared Excel workbook.
Prompt to copyHere is our auditor's document request list for the [year-end] audit. Turn it into a tracker table with columns: Ref | Request (short) | Area (e.g. bank, payroll, fixed assets) | Likely owner in a team of [roles] | Due date (spread sensibly before [fieldwork date]) | Status (Not started) | Where to save it | Notes. Group by area. Flag any request that is vague and suggest a clarifying question to send the auditor.Agree owners and dates
Check the owners and dates with your team, send the clarifying questions to the auditor, and save the workbook in a shared Teams channel or OneDrive.
Set the rhythm
Create a recurring Outlook Calendar meeting each week of the audit, and ask owners to update the status column before it.
Get a weekly status summary
Before each meeting, paste the tracker into your AI assistant and ask: 'Summarise progress: count by status, overdue items with owner, items due this week, and anything blocking. Keep it to ten lines.' If your plan includes Copilot in Excel, you can ask it there.
Review before sending anything
Check every document yourself before it goes to the auditor, and keep the tracker as your record of what was sent and when.
What you get
Week 2 status: 64 requests. Done 31, In progress 18, Not started 15. Overdue: P-07 payroll reconciliations (Sam), FA-03 asset additions invoices (Leah). Due this week: 12. Blocking: bank confirmation still awaited from the bank.
Tips
- Ask the AI to turn last year's audit findings into extra rows, so the same points don't come up again.
- Never upload client or staff personal data to a public AI tool; summarise the tracker, not the documents themselves.