Getting the client's approval on draft statements
How a client reviews, comments on and confirms draft statements from a link, with no Achekam sign-in, and what happens with no mail connector.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
The draft goes to the client by e-mail as an attachment. The financial director prints it, writes in the margin, scans two pages and sends them back. The managing director replies separately to say it looks fine. A week later nobody can say which version was approved, by whom, or whether the margin notes were dealt with.
Client approval is one of the last steps before a set is issued and one of the least controlled in many practices. Achekam handles it with a link to a frozen copy, a small set of choices for the client and a record of the decision. This article walks through how that works, who receives the link, and what happens when the firm has no mail connector set up.
A link to a frozen copy
The client receives a link to a frozen copy of the draft statements. Frozen is the important word: the copy the client sees cannot change while they are reading it, even if the team carries on working on the set. When the client approves, it is clear exactly what they approved.
The client does not sign in. Achekam has no client sign-in or client portal account; clients deal with the firm through the links it sends, for requests, signing, shared documents, payment and statement review. For the client that means one less password; for the firm it means the link itself must go to the right person, which is why the next section matters.
Comment, confirm or ask for changes
On the review page the client can do three things:
- comment on the draft, so questions and corrections arrive attached to the set rather than in separate e-mails;
- confirm the draft, which is their approval;
- ask for changes, which sends the set back.
The client's decision moves the set on or back. A confirmation lets the set move forward towards issue; a request for changes returns it to the team. Comments are where the useful detail lives, such as a related party the team did not know about or a description of the business that needs updating.
A practical tip: tell the client in the covering message what you want them to look at. Directors who are asked to "review the attached" tend to read the first page. Directors who are asked to confirm the related-party note, the description of the business and the events after year end tend to read those. For that last item, the IFRS Foundation's summary of IAS 10 explains when statements are adjusted for events after the reporting period and what is disclosed about non-adjusting events.
The decision moves the set on or back
Treat the client's decision as a stage in the set's life, not as an e-mail. When a client asks for changes, deal with each comment, record how it was resolved, and send a fresh link to the updated frozen copy. Do not issue on the strength of an earlier confirmation if the set has changed since.
Approval by the client does not replace the firm's own sign-off. Each set still names a preparer, a reviewer and an engagement partner; only a user with a partner role can sign, and the preparer or reviewer cannot issue it. When the set is issued, the final PDF is stored with a fingerprint and that version is locked.
Sent only to the authorised review contact
The link goes only to the client's authorised review contact. That restriction protects the firm from a common mistake: sending draft statements to whoever happens to be the usual contact for queries, such as a bookkeeper, when the approval should come from a director or trustee.
Before the first review of the season, check who is recorded as each client's authorised review contact. Where several directors or trustees must agree, decide with the client who will confirm on behalf of the board, and keep the board's resolution or minute on the file so the single confirmation is backed by the people it speaks for. A change of directors, a new financial manager or a family company passing to the next generation are all reasons the contact may be out of date.
When no mail connector is set up
The link is sent through the firm's own mail connector. If the firm has none set up, nothing is sent, and the record says so.
That honesty matters. A screen that showed "sent" when nothing had gone would leave a team waiting for an approval the client never had the chance to give. If the record shows nothing was sent, set up the firm's mail connector before relying on client review, and check the first link actually arrives.
| Step | Who | What is recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze and send the draft | The firm | The frozen copy and whether the link was sent |
| Comment, confirm or ask for changes | The authorised review contact | The client's decision and comments |
| Resolve comments, resend if changed | The firm | The new frozen copy |
| Sign and issue | The engagement partner | Final PDF with fingerprint, locked version |
A client-approval checklist
- Confirm the authorised review contact for the client.
- Confirm the firm's mail connector is set up and working.
- Send the link with a short note on what needs the client's attention.
- Answer every comment and record how it was resolved.
- Resend a fresh link if the set changes after a confirmation.
- Issue only the version the client confirmed.
From approval to issue
Once the client has confirmed the version you intend to issue, the remaining steps belong to the firm: partner sign-off and issue. Those are covered in issuing statements: the final PDF and a locked version. South African firms that also need iXBRL from the same set will find the current limits in iXBRL for CIPC: why packs are marked TEST.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
