Sign-off
Sign-off is what turns an opinion into an audit record. The chain has three stages, and the first two are required.
The chain
Preparer → Reviewer → Approver
| Stage | Effect |
|---|---|
| Preparer signs off | Workpaper moves to in review. "I did this work." |
| Reviewer signs off | Workpaper moves to done. "I checked it." |
| Approver signs off | Recorded as an attestation. Status does not change. |
Completion counts workpapers at done — preparer plus reviewer. Approver sign-off is a recorded attestation on top, not a gate.
Sign-off buttons appear only for the roles you hold on this engagement, and only once there is something to sign. Two states look empty and are not:
- The workpaper has not been graded yet. Sign-off attests to content; a workpaper at not started has none, and the tab says so. Grade both axes and save, and the preparer's button appears.
- You are not on the sign-off team. The tab tells you that too. Ask a manager to add you under the engagement's Team panel.
The reviewer's button is greyed while any review note on the workpaper is still open, and says why.
Review notes
A reviewer can attach a review note to a workpaper: a question or a correction for the preparer, tracked separately from the sign-off itself.
Open review notes block reviewer sign-off. The reviewer cannot mark a workpaper done while a question they raised is unanswered, and the engagement cannot be completed while any note anywhere is still open.
Only the person who raised a note, or a reviewer or approver on the engagement team, can resolve it. The preparer answers the note — with the rework, and a comment if they like — but the reviewer closes it after seeing the answer. A preparer clearing their own reviewer's notes would clear the gate the notes exist to hold. Resolving, reopening and editing a note are all recorded in the audit trail.
Segregation of duties
One person cannot act in two roles on the same workpaper. If you prepared it, you cannot review it. Get a second person onto the engagement team in the reviewer role.
Sending work back
A reviewer who is not satisfied can return the workpaper: it goes back to in progress with a required comment explaining what needs correcting, and the preparer picks it up again. An approver can return a done workpaper to in review. A reviewer can also reassign it to a different preparer from the same tab: the workpaper returns to in progress under the new preparer, with a comment if the reason is not obvious.
A return requires a comment — the platform refuses a return without one, because a workpaper bounced with no reason is a workpaper the preparer cannot fix.
Returns are recorded. A workpaper that went round twice shows that history — this is a feature for your own quality programme, not something to avoid. A second press of the same sign-off button within a minute is treated as a double click and ignored, but a sign-off after a return always counts as a new signature, however quickly the preparer fixed the work.
Returning is also the only way to reopen a signed workpaper for editing: once the preparer has signed, the content is locked, because the reviewer's name will sit against exactly what they saw.
Sign-off is live only while the engagement is open. On a completed or cancelled engagement the chain is frozen — reopen the engagement first.
Your name, the role you signed in and the timestamp are written to the audit trail. Sign for work you have actually done or actually checked.