Preparing for a Malta company audit: an evidence checklist

Make the evidence understandable, not just available

A useful audit preparation pack explains where the figures came from, who reviewed them and which questions remain open. A folder containing many documents can still leave those questions unanswered. Start with the financial statements and work back to the records and judgements supporting them. The aim is to make the evidence understandable to someone who did not prepare it.

This guide is for directors and finance teams preparing for an agreed financial-statement audit. It does not decide whether a company needs an audit, qualifies for an exemption or can meet a filing deadline. Confirm those matters for the entity and reporting period before setting the timetable. The checklist is an original preparation aid, not an official request list or audit programme.

Agree the starting point with the auditor

Ask for the engagement-specific request list early. Confirm the legal entity, reporting period, accounting framework, group relationships, relevant locations and anticipated reporting timetable. Tell the auditor about significant changes: a new accounting system, acquisition, funding arrangement, change of activity or lost access to historical records. An operational change may affect how the auditor plans the work.

MBR's Annual Filings overview distinguishes accounts from annual returns and discusses conditional reporting exemptions. Confirm eligibility and reporting requirements separately; an audit request list does not determine them. The ISA 200 management/governance premise leaves responsibility for the financial statements and relevant controls with management and, where appropriate, those charged with governance, including providing information and access. Organising records does not transfer that responsibility to the auditor.

The source review used indexed primary-publisher ISA 200 material from the 2025 handbook. The 2026 handbook publication page was also checked, but its complete volumes were not reviewed; inclusion of a pronouncement does not alone establish its effective application. Ask the practitioner to confirm the operative standards, period and Maltese adoption for the actual engagement.

Make the numbers traceable

Choose a clearly identified version of the trial balance and reconcile it to the draft statements. Show how significant schedules tie to that version. If an adjustment changes a balance, retain the journal, reason, support and approval, then update the affected schedule. Quietly replacing a spreadsheet makes it difficult to see which evidence supported which version.

A reconciliation should explain differences, not merely show equal totals. For cash, identify outstanding items and subsequent clearing evidence. For receivables, connect balances to invoices, receipts and the basis for a provision. For payables, explain unmatched invoices, disputes and the review for unrecorded liabilities. Agree relevant scope and timing with the auditor; these questions are not a complete list of audit procedures.

Prepare an evidence checklist for the engagement

Adapt the rows with the engagement team and record an explicit reason for anything considered inapplicable. Identify the preparation owner, review status and restricted evidence location in the accompanying index. A completeness question helps expose a missing explanation; it does not prescribe the auditor's testing or imply that an area is resolved.

Keep one evidence index and one issue record

Give each request a reference, owner, reporting version and evidence location. An uploaded document may cover the wrong period, omit a reconciliation or need an explanation. Use separate preparation and auditor-query statuses. Let the auditor determine whether evidence answers the audit question rather than marking a request resolved because it has been sent.

For an open issue, record the question, affected balance or disclosure, evidence available, management's proposed treatment and the decision still needed. Preserve disagreement and uncertainty. Do not remove a difficult item when the first pack is sent. The handover should let the next person reconstruct both the current figures and the reason a question remains open.

Raise changes and access problems through the agreed channel

Discuss count arrangements before the event, missing records when discovered and changes to estimates or draft statements when they occur. Flag unresolved funding, unusual transactions, suspected irregularities and access restrictions through the agreed channel. Early communication allows the engagement team to assess implications; it cannot guarantee a particular report or completion date.

Fictional illustration: a finance team uploads a receivables ageing based on a different ledger version from the draft statements. The team records the difference, reconciles the versions and leaves a disputed invoice open for discussion. No client outcome is claimed. The useful step is preserving the explanation, not labelling an unreconciled file complete.

Agree access-controlled sharing, recipients and the evidence route with the auditor. Retain preparation history and originals. An initial scoping discussion can describe the entity, period and preparation challenge without attaching confidential financial or personal records; agree responsibilities and a protected route before sharing them.

Actions to consider

• Confirm the engagement-specific request list, entity, period and reporting framework.
• Reconcile schedules to a versioned trial balance and keep an adjustment history.
• Assign preparation and review owners for each evidence request.
• Keep unresolved balances, judgements and access problems in an issue record.
• Agree a protected handover route and raise significant changes with the auditor.