IndiaAuditLens
Sign off, complete, and archive an engagement
The engagement moves sequentially through the stages Plan, Data, Audit, Review, Finalise, Completed and Archived. Manager and partner sign-off are distinct role/assignment gates. Completion also requires the…
By IndiaAuditLens product team · Updated 2026-08-03
Before you begin
Open the correct engagement and confirm that source data, workpapers, findings, and review points are current. Resolve or clearly assign material outstanding work. Confirm who is authorised to review, sign, complete, export, or archive the file. Keep the final evidence and approved output destination ready.
Read Before approval
Finalise → Sign-off and close shows, above the sign-off cards, the same Before approval list as Report Studio: the six items that stop the auditor's report (audit areas signed off, findings closed in Findings, misstatements evaluated under SA 450, going concern signed off under SA 570, the Partner's opinion decided, and the client's signed representation letter under SA 580). Click an item to open the place where it is fixed, or Open Report Studio to open the report. Reading the list changes nothing.
Advance to Review
Open Finalise → Sign-off and close. Read the workflow stepper and next-step strip. Confirm the stage prerequisites and click Move to …. If blocked, read every listed precondition and remediate it at the source.
On an engagement that uses the audit programme, moving from Audit to Review requires every audit area that Audit scope applies to be signed off on its own page, with Audit scope and the selected planning and completion questions reviewed. The message names what is left, for example "Cannot move to Review: 0 of 1 audit areas signed off; still to sign off: Cash and bank." An engagement not on the audit programme requires at least one workpaper. Stage transitions are manager-or-above actions; engagement assignment and valid firm access still apply.
Record manager sign-off
Confirm status is Review and the assigned manager is acting. Review the Manager Sign-off preconditions, including All findings closed in Findings and Audit areas signed off. An engagement not on the audit programme shows Audit workpapers prepared, All workpapers reviewed and All checklist items completed/N/A instead; there, papers generated before 14 Oct 2026 never wait for review. Independently inspect the supporting evidence and review notes. Click Manager Sign-off. Verify signed-by/time evidence, then advance to Finalise.
Moving to Finalise requires manager sign-off and every finding closed in Review › Findings, each with an outcome and a conclusion. Open, Under investigation and Confirmed findings are all still open.
Record partner sign-off and complete
The assigned engagement partner opens Sign-off at the Finalise stage. Verify manager sign-off, critical/high finding review and no client requests left open (questions and document requests on Review › Client requests), and read Before approval for the auditor's report. Confirm the partner is not the same person who performed manager sign-off unless a documented firm-policy exception is valid and permitted. Click Partner Sign-off and verify signed-by/time evidence. Confirm in Finalise → Report Studio that the report shows Issued: the Partner has issued it with its UDIN after the team's…
Use an override exceptionally
Attempt the transition/sign-off and read Preconditions Not Met. Resolve issues wherever possible. If the authorised role concludes a soft condition must be bypassed, enter a specific, audit-defensible Override Reason and confirm. Verify the orange override activity records actor, reason and bypassed conditions.
Assignment itself cannot be overridden. An override is evidence of an exception, not evidence that the omitted work became unnecessary.
Send back for rework
From Finalise, choose the supported send-back to Review. Record the rework reason. Re-perform affected work and review. The prior manager sign-off is invalidated and must be completed again. Review iterations are capped by the current workflow.
Archive a completed engagement
Confirm the final audit file, report artifact, evidence retention, access and required exports. From Completed, choose Archived. Verify the Archived banner and activity trail.
There is no normal transition out of Archived. Treat archival as a consequential, effectively irreversible lifecycle action; obtain required authorisation before it. If reopening is required, escalate through product/support governance rather than modifying status indirectly.
Sign-Off Workflow showing engagement-stage progression and manager and partner precondition cards.
Sign-off overview. Client/engagement identity, years, users, counts, dates, finding details, and account controls are masked. Complete the displayed preconditions before moving the lifecycle stage or signing off.
Expected result
Every transition is role-authorised and evidenced; manager/partner reviews are sequential; overrides are exceptional and traceable; the auditor's report is issued before completion; and archive is performed only after retention/recovery needs are satisfied. The activity log names the report's steps (opinion decided, sent for approval, reviewed, approved, sent back, issued, reopened).