Accounting policies and notes: what is filled in
Which accounting policy and note wording Achekam supplies in a draft set, where note figures come from, and what the preparer still has to complete.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
Ask a reviewer where draft statements usually let them down and the answer is rarely the primary statements. It is the back half of the set: a revenue policy copied from a client in a different industry, a property note with no description of the property, a reference to note 14 that points at nothing. Policies and notes are where boilerplate meets the facts of one client, and where it shows.
Achekam supplies a good deal of that back half and deliberately leaves the rest visibly unfinished. This article explains which policy wording comes with a draft, how the firm writes its own, where note figures come from, what the [to be completed] marker means, and how note references behave.
Standard policy wording based on IFRS for SMEs
The Studio includes standard accounting policy wording based on IFRS for SMEs, and every standard policy is labelled for review before issue. The label is the point: it is a starting text, not a conclusion about the client's accounting. The IFRS Foundation's page on the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard explains what the standard is and how it simplifies full IFRS for smaller entities.
Whether that starting text fits depends on the framework. In Nigeria, SMEs are required to apply IFRS for SMEs, while listed and other publicly accountable entities have used full IFRS since 2012. In Kenya, an entity that is not publicly accountable may use IFRS for SMEs, and publicly accountable entities, including State-owned ones, must use full IFRS. For a full IFRS client in either country, or a South African client on another basis, the standard IFRS for SMEs wording is a draft to be replaced, not adjusted.
Even for an IFRS for SMEs client, read each policy against what the client actually does. A revenue policy describing the sale of goods does little for a client that earns fees.
Writing the firm's own policies
Staff can write their own policies in the Studio. This is where firm style and client specifics belong: a property company's policy on investment property, a non-profit's policy on restricted grants, a contractor's policy on revenue over time.
Policies the firm writes are kept with the set, and when the set is rolled forward to a new year they come with it. That makes the first careful draft worth the effort.
Notes take their figures from the trial balance
Notes take their figures from the mapped trial balance. A property, plant and equipment note, for example, draws its amounts from the accounts mapped to that line, and the note ties are among the fixed, non-AI checks the Validation & Math Engine runs alongside double entry.
Where a firm has added its own statement lines or groups, each custom line still totals into a standard line, so its note and the cash flow stay consistent with the face of the statements.
Where an AI key is set up, AI may draft note wording as well as narrative such as the nature of the business. That wording is checked in code and labelled "AI draft - review before issue". There is no separate accept step for each paragraph, so the review stage is where it is read. Without a key, standard wording is used.
What [to be completed] means
A trial balance holds balances. It does not hold the address of a property, the terms of a loan, the name of a related party or the nature of a contingent liability. Where a note needs a fact like that, the draft leaves it marked [to be completed] rather than inventing it.
Treat each marker as an open question with an owner:
| Marker in | Typical fact missing | Usually from |
|---|---|---|
| Borrowings note | Lender, security, interest terms | Loan agreement |
| Related parties | Names and nature of relationships | Directors or owners |
| Property note | Description, location | Title deeds or lease |
| Events after the reporting date | What happened and its effect | Management |
| Commitments | Amounts and timing | Contracts |
A set that still shows a marker is not ready for the partner. A quick search for the marker text before review saves an embarrassing comment later.
Note references only when the note is in the set
A line on the face of the statements carries a note reference only when that note is in the set. If a note is removed because it does not apply, the reference goes with it, so the statements do not point the reader at a note that is not there.
The reverse needs a human eye. If a balance is material enough to need explanation but no note exists for it, nothing will add the reference for you. The automated review may raise findings for a person to accept, resolve or dismiss, but it is advice only and does not block signing.
A short review list for the back half
- Confirm the framework, and replace the IFRS for SMEs wording where it does not apply.
- Read every policy against the client's actual business.
- Write firm policies for the client's specific transactions.
- Clear every [to be completed] marker with sourced facts.
- Read AI-drafted note wording before the set goes forward.
- Check every material balance has a note, and every note has a purpose.
Where the effort pays off
Time spent on policies and notes in the first year is repaid each year after, because the wording rolls forward with the set. How the rest of the draft is assembled is set out in building draft statements from a mapped trial balance, and one note that needs particular care is covered in depreciation in the statements: checked, not calculated.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
