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The disclosure checklist, for audits and reviews.

Choose the engagement — an AICPA audit or review, a PCAOB audit or interim review — and what the entity has. The list keeps only the disclosures that apply, each with its ASC citation, and opens with what the audit or review standard requires of you. Answer each one, then download it as an Excel workpaper with sign-offs. Free, and it runs in your browser.

Use at your own risk. This free tool is provided as is, without warranty, and is not accounting, legal or tax advice. All of the work a CPA performs is subject to that person’s or firm’s judgment. Do your own research and verify that the checklist or protocol you are using is valid and up to date. Built from public sources — see the sources and the terms of use.

Where the requirements come from

GAAP writes the disclosures. The audit and review standards make you check them.

No professional standard requires a checklist by name. What they require is that the auditor or accountant evaluate whether the disclosures are adequate, treat a missing disclosure as a misstatement, and modify the report when it is not corrected. A checklist is how most firms show that evaluation was done.

AICPA audits — AU-C

  • AU-C 330 — perform procedures to evaluate whether the overall presentation, including the related disclosures, follows the framework.
  • AU-C 700 — evaluate whether the statements adequately disclose the significant accounting policies and provide disclosures that let users understand the effect of material transactions and events, including the qualitative aspects of the entity’s practices.
  • AU-C 450 — misstatements include omitted or inadequate disclosures; AU-C 705 — a qualified or adverse opinion if they are not corrected.
  • AU-C 540, 550, 560, 570, 580 — the disclosures of estimates, related parties, subsequent events and going concern, and the representations about them.

AICPA reviews — SSARS, AR-C 90

  • AR-C 90.25 — analytical procedures and inquiries address all material items, including disclosures.
  • AR-C 90.29 and .31 — inquiries of management, and reading the statements for conformity with the framework.
  • AR-C 90.37–.38 — going concern; AR-C 90.60 — written representations.
  • AR-C 90.69–.74 — a modified conclusion when the statements are materially misstated, including by an omitted disclosure. A review cannot be issued on statements that omit substantially all disclosures.

PCAOB audits

  • AS 2810.30–.31 — evaluate whether the statements are presented fairly, including the form, arrangement and content of the statements and notes.
  • AS 2815.04 — fair presentation requires that the statements, including the notes, be informative of matters that may affect their use and interpretation.
  • AS 3105.24 — if the statements fail to disclose information GAAP requires, a qualified or adverse opinion, with the information in the report if practicable.
  • Regulation S-X — Rule 4-08 general notes and the other SEC requirements; SAB Topic 11.M for standards not yet adopted.

PCAOB interim reviews — AS 4105

  • AS 4105.07 — the objective: whether material modifications are needed for the interim information to conform with GAAP.
  • AS 4105.18 — analytical procedures, inquiries and reading the interim information.
  • AS 4105.43 — if information needed for adequate disclosure is missing, modify the report and include it if practicable.
  • Regulation S-X Article 10 and ASC 270 — the interim disclosure framework.

The disclosure items summarize the FASB Accounting Standards Codification as amended through ASU 2023-09 and ASU 2024-03; they are the requirements most entities meet, not every paragraph of every Topic. Industry topics (for example ASC 910 contractors, ASC 932 oil and gas, ASC 958 not-for-profits) and less common transactions need their own review. Check the current text of each standard before relying on it; the CPA who signs the report owns the conclusion.