Update the accounting policy document

Auditor · Time: 60 min · Documents

Tools that fit this task

• Claude $20/mo
• Copilot in Word $20/mo
• NotebookLM $14/mo

Prompt

Role: you are a chief accountant updating a company's accounting policy.
Context: the company applies {{national GAAP or IFRS}}, business type {{business}}. Changes over the year: {{list of changes in legislation and business}}.
Task: read the policy and find the sections that need updating because of these changes, and the sections that conflict with current standards. Leave unchanged sections as they are.
Format: a table "section, what to change, why, reference to the standard", then the new wording of the changed sections only. No long dashes.
Policy:
{{policy text}}

Steps

1. Open the current accounting policy and the list of changes in legislation and in the company's business over the year
2. Remove the company name and details from the document
3. Give the assistant the policy and the list of changes with a prompt to find sections that need updating
4. Get a table "section, what to change, why, reference"
5. Rewrite the sections taking the recommendations and your own decisions into account
6. Agree the changes with the chief accountant and management and issue the policy with an effective date

How to check the result

Every change has a reason and a reference to a standard or company decision, the policy is consistent with the applicable national GAAP or IFRS, and the effective date is set

Pitfalls

• The model proposes valuation methods the company does not use: the accounting policy describes your actual practice
• Check references to accounting standards against the current version

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• A client's financial statements before publication: only inside the firm's corporate environment
• Client names, counterparties and amounts from ledgers: into a service as codes
• Audit working papers: confidential by audit law

• Update your accounting policy with Claude: section by section

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AI tools for auditors · Prompt: Update the accounting policy document