Field notes
What Auditors Expect in Week One of a Group Fieldwork Visit
When external auditors arrive for group fieldwork, the first week rarely starts with deep substantive testing. They want the consolidation map, the entity trial balances, and proof that intercompany balances have been matched—or at least that unmatched items are documented.
For Taiwanese holding companies, that usually means a current organisation chart with reporting currency noted for each subsidiary, a normalised trial balance for every entity in scope, and an intercompany matrix that ties to both sides of each pair. Auditors also look for last year’s elimination entries and a short note explaining any change in structure or accounting policy.
Gaps that slow fieldwork most often include subsidiaries that report in different chart-of-accounts formats, management fees posted in only one entity, and foreign-currency translation workings that stop at the income statement. Closing those gaps before kick-off keeps the auditor’s first week on schedule and reduces follow-up lists that land on the controller’s desk mid-close.
If your group is approaching year-end, inventory these items now against last year’s PBC list. A short readiness pass two months before fieldwork is cheaper than rebuilding schedules while auditors wait in the conference room.