India Audit Lens
Govern client lifecycle document masters
Maintain appointment, predecessor, acceptance, continuance, exit, and handover wording in the existing firm Document templates page. Client Lifecycle generates documents only from a Partner-approved active master and…
By India Audit Lens product team · Updated 2026-08-28
Before you begin
Confirm the user preparing the Draft is a Manager or above and the approving user is an eligible Partner or firm approver. Gather the firm's approved wording, current regulatory source, direction, signatory, enclosure, effective-date, and review-date requirements. Keep Engagement Letter and Management Representation Letter wording in their existing Engagement master workflow. Do not include mobile verification, OTP, passwords, full Aadhaar, bank credentials, or other protected secrets in a merge field.
Understand the template areas
Open Settings - Document templates. The page separates:
Client relationship masters - lifecycle letters and evidence documents governed through Draft, Approved, Superseded, and Retired versions; and Engagement masters - the existing Engagement Letter and Management Representation Letter, which continue in their established direct-customisation workflow.
Letter wording belongs here. Acceptance questions, scoring, and decision checklists remain in Settings - Acceptance templates. The lifecycle release does not move or rewrite Engagement templates.
Review the lifecycle master catalogue
The firm catalogue includes these 19 client relationship masters:
Proposal / quotation and scope. Auditor written consent. Eligibility and non-disqualification certificate. Combined auditor consent and eligibility certificate. Professional communication to previous auditor. Previous auditor follow-up. Previous auditor response / no-objection sample. Appointment intimation / letter. Board resolution extract. General meeting resolution extract. Acceptance of appointment. Client acceptance / continuance memorandum. Client relationship continuance memorandum. Auditor resignation notice. Removal process record. Special notice for auditor non-reappointment.…
Each master states its origin or ownership, direction, regulatory basis, effective period, and next review date. Direction distinguishes documents issued by the firm, expected from the client, sent to or received from a previous auditor, and internal records.
Edit a controlled draft
Select a client relationship master from the catalogue. Review its status, version, ownership/origin, direction, regulatory basis, effective period, and next review date. Click Edit on an editable section. Change the section title or content. Preserve protected placeholders and system-managed clauses. Click Apply for each edited section, then save the template.
A Manager or above can prepare a Draft. Saving does not make it available for lifecycle use. Resetting a section returns that Draft section to the supplied default; it does not alter an already issued lifecycle document snapshot.
Review placeholders safely
Use only the merge fields shown for that master. Do not add PAN, Aadhaar, bank account, OTP, mobile-verification, password, or other protected secrets as merge fields. Preview the rendered document with test data before approval. Confirm entity type, sender/recipient direction, appointment scenario, dates, financial year, authority, signature block, enclosures, and statutory references. Tailor wording to current law and firm policy; supplied defaults are Draft starting points, not pre-approved legal advice.
Approve and version a master
A Partner or eligible firm approver opens the Draft and reviews every section. Confirm effective and review dates, regulatory source, direction, merge fields, and signatory wording. Click Approve version and confirm. Verify the master shows Approved and the correct version.
Approval makes that version immutable and available for controlled lifecycle use. Approving a new version supersedes the prior approved version without changing historical documents generated from it. Retire a master only when it must not be selected for future use; preserve its history.
Use the approved master in a client case
Open the client's Lifecycle case. Select the required document type and approved master. Review the merged values and rendered wording. Finalise, issue, sign, or receive the document as applicable.
The lifecycle document records its master version, rendered content, merge data, hash, actor, and time. Later template edits do not alter that evidence.
Expected result
The firm has a reviewed, versioned catalogue of lifecycle documents; only approved masters can be used; and every generated client document remains tied to the exact wording approved at the time.
Related guides
Protect and test document-template placeholders Complete client acceptance or continuance Manage appointment, predecessor communication, and governed letters