What to gather before a accounting and valuation support
Accounting and valuation work depends on inputs. A partner firm can apply a standard or value an asset, but it cannot invent facts your records do not hold. If the data is incomplete, the work stalls or rests on assumptions. This guide covers what to assemble when your need is lease accounting, an accounting standards conversion or an asset valuation.
Say what the work is for
State the purpose first. Examples: adopting a new lease standard, preparing for a financial statement audit, supporting a purchase price allocation, or valuing equipment for a loan. The purpose decides what evidence counts. Write two or three sentences and add the reporting date the work must support.
Note who will rely on the result, such as a lender, an auditor or the board. [CONFIRM: a partner firm supplies and approves the valuation and accounting services it offers]
Lease data for lease accounting
If your need is lease accounting under ASC 842, the central task is a complete lease inventory. A guide from an accounting advisory firm describes the standard as bringing nearly all leases onto the balance sheet for lessees, so each lease needs inputs. Collect:
- Every lease contract and amendment, including equipment, vehicles and real estate
- Commencement dates, terms and renewal or extension options
- Payment schedules, including escalations and variable elements
- Purchase options and end-of-term provisions
- Information on the asset's expected useful life and fair value
- The rate information your team has used or plans to use
Contracts that look like service agreements can contain leases. Include data center, logistics and equipment-supply contracts in your sweep. [VERIFY: how to assess whether a contract contains a lease under the standard, with your auditor]
Prepare a portfolio list in a spreadsheet, with one row per lease. A lease abstract for each is helpful where you have them.
Prior accounting and policy records
Gather what you have already decided:
- Accounting policies and memos on leases, assets and impairment
- Prior-year financial statements and notes
- Working papers or schedules your team prepared
- Correspondence with your auditor on technical questions
- Any lease or asset accounting system exports
These show how the work will fit with existing treatment.
Asset records for valuation
For valuation, prepare:
- A fixed asset register with cost, date, location and condition
- Purchase invoices for major items
- Maintenance and repair history
- Insurance schedules
- Appraisals or quotes from earlier years
- Details of any liens or financing
For real estate, add the lease or title information, a description of the site and recent capital work. Photographs help, and so do inspection reports.
Conversion projects
An accounting standards conversion also needs your current chart of accounts, trial balances and mapping notes. If you are moving from one framework to another, list known differences your team has already found. Say which entities are in scope.
Governance and timing
Write down the dates that drive the work: your reporting deadline, any auditor deadlines and when the board or lender needs the result. Ask the finance lead to name an owner for data and an approver for judgments. Decisions about assumptions belong to you and your auditor, with the partner firm's input.
Note: This article is general information, not accounting advice. Standards and their application depend on your facts and reporting framework. [VERIFY: which standard applies to your entity and reporting date]
Checklist before you submit
- State the purpose and reporting date.
- Build a lease inventory with all amendments.
- Collect policies, prior statements and auditor correspondence.
- Export the fixed asset register.
- Gather appraisals, invoices and condition records.
- Name a data owner and a decision maker.
- Choose the right request path for your size.
Next steps
Read Accounting and valuation support for the scope, and see Lease accounting ASC 842 if leases are your focus. Common issues are covered in Common valuation and reporting errors. When your file is ready, use Request a professional. Fairview connects you with a partner firm, which does the work.
Sources
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