The PBC List: A Template, and How to Stop Chasing It by Email
A PBC list template for a statutory audit, with item, period, format, due date and owner, plus how to issue it, how often to chase, and what to record when each document arrives.
Short answer: A PBC (prepared by client, or provided by client) list is the audit request list you send a client before fieldwork: every document you need, the period it covers, the format, the due date and who at the client owns it. Issue it once the engagement letter is signed, agree the dates, chase on a fixed cadence, and record what arrived, when, from whom and which version.
This guide is for audit managers, seniors and practice administrators who send request lists to clients every season and spend too much of it in email threads asking for the same bank statement twice. It suits statutory audits of companies, and most of it carries over to tax and review engagements. You will also see the list called a document request list (DRL), an audit request list or a request for information (RFI).
Creodata sells practice software for audit firms, so we say plainly where we fit near the end. The template and the process work with any tools, including a spreadsheet. This is practical guidance, not professional advice: adapt the list to your methodology and the client.
Why the PBC list matters more than it looks
The request list is where the audit timetable is won or lost. Fieldwork booked against documents that have not arrived is time billed to nobody. It is also where the standards meet the paperwork:
- ISA 210 makes management's agreement to give you access to all relevant information, and any additional information you request, a precondition of the audit (para 6(b)(iii)). The engagement letter records it. The PBC list is how you use it.
- ISA 500 requires you, when using information produced by the entity, to evaluate whether it is reliable enough for your purposes, including its accuracy and completeness (para 9). Knowing which version of a trial balance or ageing report you tested, and when it arrived, is part of that.
- ISA 505 requires the auditor to keep control of external confirmation requests, including sending them (para 7). Confirmations are not something the client sends you. What you ask the client for is the authority and the contact details.
The PBC list template for a statutory audit
Copy this into your own list and delete what does not apply. "YE" means the financial year end. Due dates are shown relative to the start of fieldwork so the list can be reused; replace them with calendar dates when you issue it.
| # | Item | Period | Format | Due | Client owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trial balance, final and before audit adjustments | Year to YE, with prior-year comparatives | Excel | 10 working days before fieldwork | Finance manager |
| 2 | General ledger detail for all accounts | Full year | Excel or CSV export | 10 working days before | Finance manager |
| 3 | Draft financial statements, if the client prepares them | Year to YE | Word or PDF, and Excel workings | 5 working days before | Finance manager |
| 4 | Bank statements for every account, including closed and dormant accounts | Full year, plus the first month after YE | PDF as issued by the bank | 10 working days before | Accountant |
| 5 | Bank reconciliations for every account | At YE, and monthly if you test them | Excel, signed as reviewed | 10 working days before | Accountant |
| 6 | Signed authority for bank and other confirmations, with contact details | At YE | Signed PDF | Before planning | Director or CFO |
| 7 | Fixed asset register with additions, disposals and depreciation | Year to YE | Excel | 10 working days before | Finance manager |
| 8 | Invoices, title documents and approvals for significant additions | Additions in the year | On request from the sample | Accountant | |
| 9 | Debtors (receivables) ageing, reconciled to the ledger | At YE | Excel | 10 working days before | Credit controller |
| 10 | Creditors (payables) ageing and supplier statements for main suppliers | At YE | Excel; statements as PDF | 10 working days before | Accountant |
| 11 | Inventory count instructions, count sheets and valuation | At YE | PDF and Excel | Count instructions before the count; rest 5 working days before | Operations and finance |
| 12 | Payroll summary by month, reconciled to the ledger | Full year | Excel | 10 working days before | Payroll or HR |
| 13 | Payroll tax (PAYE) and statutory deduction returns and payment evidence | Full year | 10 working days before | Payroll | |
| 14 | VAT returns and payment evidence | Full year | 10 working days before | Tax accountant | |
| 15 | Corporate income tax computation, returns and instalment payments | Current and prior year | PDF and Excel | 5 working days before | Tax accountant |
| 16 | Correspondence with the tax authority, assessments and objections | Open matters | 5 working days before | Tax accountant | |
| 17 | Loan agreements, facility letters and security documents | In force during the year | 10 working days before | CFO | |
| 18 | Leases and other significant contracts | In force during the year | 10 working days before | Legal or company secretary | |
| 19 | Board, committee and shareholder minutes | Year, and up to the date of fieldwork | PDF, signed where available | 10 working days before | Company secretary |
| 20 | Statutory registers, certificate of incorporation and current directors and shareholders | Current | Before planning | Company secretary | |
| 21 | Accruals, prepayments and provisions schedules with support | At YE | Excel and PDF | 5 working days before | Finance manager |
| 22 | Related party listing and transactions | Year to YE | Excel | 5 working days before | CFO |
| 23 | Legal cases and letters from lawyers | Open at YE and since | 5 working days before | Legal | |
| 24 | Grants, donor agreements or regulatory returns, where relevant | Year to YE | 10 working days before | Finance manager | |
| 25 | Prior-year signed financial statements and management letter | Prior year | Before planning | Finance manager | |
| 26 | Subsequent events: management accounts and significant transactions after YE | YE to date | Excel and PDF | During fieldwork | CFO |
Country items to add. In Kenya, add eTIMS electronic tax invoice records for a sample of expenses, since KRA's rules link deductibility to them. In Tanzania, add EFD or VFD receipt records; in Rwanda, EBM invoice records. Add sector returns for banks, insurers, SACCOs and other regulated clients.
Keep it proportionate. A small owner-managed company will not have half of these. Delete rows rather than sending a list the client cannot finish; a short list that gets answered beats a long one that does not.
How to issue it
- Wait for the signed engagement letter. Until the terms are agreed (ISA 210 para 9), the client has not agreed to give you anything.
- Hold a short call. Walk the finance lead through the list, confirm owners and dates, and agree how files will reach you. Clients miss dates they did not agree to.
- Send one list, not many. Additional requests during fieldwork are normal; add them to the same list so everyone sees one picture of what is outstanding.
- Give a secure route for files. Large ledgers and payroll files containing personal data should not go through personal email. Use a link that expires, with the client identifying themselves before they upload.
- Say what "received" means. A trial balance that does not agree to the ledger has not been received. Tell the client you will mark items received only when they are complete and usable.
Chasing cadence
A fixed cadence is kinder to the client than an unpredictable one, and easier to defend when fieldwork slips.
| When | What to send | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Issue date | The full list with due dates | Senior or manager |
| A few days before the first due date | A reminder of items due, with what is already in | Senior |
| Due date passed | A chaser for each overdue item, naming the owner | Senior |
| Regular interval after that | A further chaser listing only what is still outstanding | Senior |
| After a set number of chasers | Escalation to the manager, then to the client's CFO or director | Manager, then partner |
| Fieldwork at risk | A written note that the timetable, and possibly the fee, will change | Partner |
Pick the interval and the number of chasers in your firm's policy and use the same numbers for every client.
What to record when each document arrives
| Record | Why |
|---|---|
| The list item it answers | Shows what is complete and what is still outstanding |
| Date and time received | The timetable, and evidence if the client later disputes delays |
| Who sent it, and how | Upload, email, hand delivery; the sender's name and email address |
| File name, version and a checksum | Which version you tested (ISA 500 para 9); duplicates recognised |
| Receipt given to the client | Stops the "we sent it already" argument |
| Reviewer and status: accepted, incomplete or rejected | "Received" means usable, not merely delivered |
| Where it is filed | Client, engagement and document type, so the tax team finds it next month |
| Retention date | The file's retention period starts running from the audit report |
Where Creodata fits
Creodata is a Nairobi software company. AuditEDMS, our practice software for audit firms, keeps request lists per engagement. A statutory audit's list is drafted from a template (trial balance, general ledger, bank statements and the rest, each with a due date), and the list shows what has arrived, what is outstanding, and the chasers sent. The chaser interval and the number of chasers before an item goes to the manager are settings your administrator changes, not code.
Clients answer the list through an expiring upload link. They confirm their email address with a one-time code, upload against the listed items, and get a receipt by email. They never need an account. Each file is saved to your own SharePoint by client, engagement and document type, recording who sent it, when and how, versioned and checksummed, never silently overwritten, with a retention date by document type. The request for information cannot go out until the signed engagement letter is filed, because that stage's evidence gate comes first.
AuditEDMS does not replace your working-paper software; it holds the client file and the requests around it. See AuditEDMS for audit firms.
Frequently asked questions
What does PBC stand for in audit?
Prepared by client, or provided by client. Both are in use and mean the same list: the schedules and documents the client supplies so the auditor can do the work.
What is the difference between a PBC list and a document request list?
None in practice. PBC list, audit request list, document request list and request for information are names for the same thing. Some firms keep "RFI" for requests raised during fieldwork.
When should the PBC list be sent?
After the engagement letter is signed and before planning is finished, early enough for the client to prepare items before fieldwork. Items needed for planning, such as the trial balance, come first.
Should bank confirmations be on the PBC list?
The client's signed authority and the bank contact details should be. The confirmation requests themselves are sent and controlled by the auditor under ISA 505 (para 7), with replies coming directly to you.
Can clients email documents instead?
They can, but email makes it hard to know which version is current, who sent what, and whether personal data was protected on the way. A request list with a single upload route and a receipt for each file avoids most of that.
See how AuditEDMS for audit firms runs request lists with chasers and client upload links: request a pilot.