Keeping the PBC list honest during a Hong Kong year-end
Prepared-by-client lists fail when ownership is vague. Assign names, not departments, and escalate missing schedules before the auditor does.
A prepared-by-client list is only as useful as its owners. “Finance — Kowloon” is not an owner. “Amy Ng, group reporting” is.
We colour-code items by whether they feed a disclosure the audit committee has historically debated. Inventory existence support and related-party confirmations almost always sit in that band for trading groups. Those items escalate to the CFO at day minus ten, not the morning the auditors arrive.
Another habit that helps: publish a one-page status for each audit committee sitting during the close. Directors dislike surprises more than they dislike incomplete closes. A candid “two subsidiary packs outstanding; impairment memo delayed” gives the chair something to minute and chase.