Auditing and Ethics · Audit Documentation

Preparing and Assembling the Audit File under SA 230

Updated 5 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Under SA 230, you prepare documentation on a timely basis, record significant matters, discussions and judgments, and document any departure from a requirement with reasons. You assemble the final file on a timely basis after the report date. SA 230's application material (A21) says the time limit is ordinarily not more than 60 days after the date of the auditor's report.

Understand Preparing and Assembling the Audit File

Audit documentation is the record of procedures performed, evidence obtained and conclusions reached. SA 230 says it must be good enough for an experienced auditor with no prior link to the audit to understand what was done, the results, the evidence and the significant matters.

Timing matters. Documentation prepared at the time the work is done is more accurate than documentation written later from memory. So SA 230 asks you to prepare it on a timely basis. Documents written after the work is done carry less reliability.

You must also record significant matters that arise: matters that give rise to significant risks, results of procedures that indicate the financial statements may be materially misstated, and circumstances that caused difficulty in applying necessary procedures. Record how you addressed them, the discussions with management, those charged with governance and others (including when, with whom and what was discussed), and the professional judgments you made.

Sometimes you cannot follow a relevant requirement of an SA. This is a departure. Only an exceptional situation justifies it. You must document how the alternative procedures achieved the aim of the requirement, and why you departed. A departure is not allowed just because it is inconvenient.

After you sign the report, you assemble the final audit file: complete the administrative process of putting the documentation into a final file. SA 230 requires you to do this on a timely basis after the date of the auditor's report. The requirement itself does not fix a number of days. The 60-day figure comes from SA 230's application material (A21), which says the time limit for completing assembly is ordinarily not more than 60 days after the date of the auditor's report. Treat 60 days as the ordinary maximum.

The real test for discarding is whether assembly is complete, not the calendar date. While assembly is still under way, you may discard superseded drafts and similar items. Once assembly is complete, you do not delete or discard documentation before the end of its retention period, whatever the date. Any later change must be documented.

Key rules to remember

Assembly period: Final audit file assembly: on a timely basis after the report date (SA 230); ordinarily not more than 60 days after the date of the auditor's report (SA 230, application material A21); Counted from the report date, not the balance sheet date or the date of signing the financial statements. SA 230 requires timely assembly, and its application material gives 60 days as the ordinary upper limit.
Timing rule: Prepare documentation on a timely basis; Work documented at the time it is done is more reliable than work recorded later.
Departure rule: Departure from a relevant requirement = document how alternative procedures met the aim + reasons for departure; Applies only in exceptional circumstances, not for convenience.
Significant matters: Record: matter, discussions (when, with whom, what), how addressed, judgments made, conclusions; Includes matters with significant risks and difficulties in applying procedures.
Changes after assembly: Exceptional circumstances only: document the specific reasons, who made and reviewed the change, and when; Applies to amendments or additions after the assembly is complete. Deletion or discarding before retention period ends is not permitted.

How to solve Preparing and Assembling the Audit File questions

Most questions give a scenario about late documentation, a missing record, a departure, or a file change. Use this method.

1Identify what the question tests: timing of preparation, significant matters and judgments, departure from a requirement, or assembly and changes.
2State the relevant SA 230 rule in one sentence.
3Apply it to the facts. Name the dates, people and matters from the question.
4For a departure, state that it needs exceptional circumstances, alternative procedures achieving the aim, and documented reasons.
5For assembly, state that SA 230 requires timely assembly, and that its application material (A21) gives the ordinary limit of not more than 60 days after the report date, then compute the date: report date plus 60 days.
6For discarding or changes, check whether assembly is complete. Before completion, only superseded drafts and similar items may be discarded. After completion, documentation may be added or amended only in exceptional cases, with reasons, who and when recorded, and nothing may be deleted or discarded before retention ends.
7Conclude clearly: compliant or not, and what the auditor should do.

Quickest way: Three-check scan for SA 230 timing questions

When to use it: Use this for MCQs and short written answers where you have under two minutes.

MCQ: choose the option that assembles the file on a timely basis, ordinarily within 60 days of the auditor's report date (SA 230, A21). Reject options that count the period from the balance sheet date.
Reject options that allow deleting working papers after assembly, or documenting only verbally.
Written answer format: Provision, Facts, Conclusion. One line each, with the 60 days figure (SA 230 application material, alongside the timely assembly rule) and the facts in the middle.
For dates, add 60 days to the report date and write the final date as part of the answer to earn step marks.

Common mistakes in Preparing and Assembling the Audit File

Counting 60 days from the balance sheet date.
Students link all audit deadlines to the year-end.
Fix: Remember the clock starts on the date of the auditor's report.
Treating assembly as time to finish incomplete audit work, or as a period that can run past 60 days.
Students think missing work can be completed during assembly, or that 60 days is flexible.
Fix: Assembly is administrative. It does not involve new audit procedures or new conclusions, so finish the audit work before you date the report. SA 230 requires timely assembly after the report date, and its application material (A21) says the time limit is ordinarily not more than 60 days. Aim to complete assembly within that limit.
Writing that the auditor may delete any working papers during assembly.
Students confuse tidying with discarding.
Fix: Administrative tasks like sorting, cross-referencing and signing off completion are fine, and superseded drafts may be discarded only while assembly is under way. Once assembly is complete, deleting or discarding documentation before retention ends is not allowed.
Allowing any departure from SA requirements if reasons are written.
Students focus on the reasons and miss the condition.
Fix: Departure needs exceptional circumstances and alternative procedures that achieve the aim. Documenting alone is not enough.
Omitting who, when and what in documented discussions.
Students write only 'discussed with management'.
Fix: Always write the nature, timing and participants of the discussion and what was concluded.

Worked examples

Example 1

An auditor signed the audit report on 12 August 2026. By what date should the final audit file ordinarily be assembled? Also state whether, on 1 October 2026, the auditor may remove some superseded drafts from the file if assembly of the file is not yet complete.

Show the solution

Provision: SA 230 requires assembly of the final audit file on a timely basis after the date of the auditor's report. Its application material (A21) says the time limit is ordinarily not more than 60 days after that date.
Facts: report date 12 August 2026. Days left in August after the 12th: 31 − 12 = 19. Adding September's 30 days gives 49. The remaining 11 days fall in October.
The 60th day is therefore 11 October 2026.
Removal of drafts: the test is whether assembly is complete, not the calendar date. During assembly, the auditor may do administrative tasks such as sorting and cross-referencing, and may discard superseded drafts of working papers and financial statements. After assembly is complete, no documentation may be deleted or discarded before the end of its retention period.
Assembly is not yet complete on 1 October, so discarding superseded drafts is permitted as part of assembly. Other documentation must stay. Had assembly been complete, even superseded drafts could not be discarded.

Answer: The file should ordinarily be assembled by 11 October 2026, which is 60 days after the report date. On 1 October, because assembly is not yet complete, the auditor may remove only superseded drafts; other documentation must not be deleted. Once assembly is complete, nothing may be discarded before retention ends.

Example 2

While auditing a company, the auditor could not perform a required procedure under an SA because the third party refused access to its records. The auditor performed alternative procedures instead. What must the auditor document?

Show the solution

Provision: SA 230 requires the auditor to document significant matters, including circumstances that caused significant difficulty in applying necessary procedures, how they were addressed, and the judgments made. A refusal of access is mainly a problem of obtaining audit evidence. It is not a routine departure from a requirement, and it can give rise to a limitation on scope under SA 705.
Facts: the third party refused access, so the planned procedure could not be done. The auditor used alternative procedures.
Document the refusal, the attempts made to get access, and the alternative procedures performed with the evidence they gave.
Record the significant judgments made and the discussions held, including when, with whom and what was discussed.
Conclusion: the auditor must evaluate whether the alternative procedures give sufficient appropriate audit evidence, and document that conclusion.
If they do, no limitation on scope arises. If they do not, there is a limitation on scope and the auditor must modify the opinion under SA 705, as a qualified opinion or a disclaimer of opinion depending on materiality and pervasiveness. The auditor documents the basis for that decision.

Answer: The auditor must record the refusal and the attempts to get access, the alternative procedures and the evidence they gave, and the related judgments and discussions. If the alternatives do not give sufficient appropriate evidence, a limitation on scope arises and the auditor must modify the opinion under SA 705.

Exam tips

Memorise 60 days from the date of the auditor's report. It is the most tested fact in this topic. Know that SA 230 requires 'timely' assembly, and that its application material (A21) gives the ordinary limit of not more than 60 days.
In written answers, use Provision, Facts, Conclusion, and show the date calculation.
For departures, always mention both exceptional circumstances and alternative procedures achieving the aim.
Questions often ask what to record about discussions: when, with whom and what was discussed.
For discarding questions, check whether assembly is complete, not the date. Superseded drafts may go only before completion.
No negative marking applies to MCQs, so attempt every one; eliminate options that allow deletion after assembly.

Practice questions from Audit Documentation

Preparing and Assembling the Audit File: frequently asked questions

What is the 60-day rule for assembling the audit file?

SA 230 requires the auditor to complete the administrative process of assembling the final audit file on a timely basis after the date of the auditor's report. Its application material (A21) says the time limit is ordinarily not more than 60 days after the report date. Assembly is administrative and does not involve new audit procedures or new conclusions.