Integrating PPC s SMART Practice Aids with Engagement CS (Best Practices)

Transcription

1 Integrating PPC s SMART Practice Aids with Engagement CS (Best Practices) Select a SMART Practice Aids client engagement for the first time in Engagement CS Prior to launching SMART Practice Aids, open a client engagement in Engagement CS. Then click the SMART Practice Aids icon, or select Tasks>PPC>SMART Practice Aids. 2011, Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

2 When SMART Practice Aids opens, you will be prompted to select an existing SMART Practice Aids engagement or to create a new one: 2

3 If you choose an existing engagement, the Open Engagement dialog box displays all available engagements. Select one and click Open. Selecting and saving a SMART Practice Aids engagement will then associate it with the client engagement in Engagement CS. The next time you open the client engagement in Engagement CS, then open the SMART Practice Aids application through Engagement CS, the Open Engagement dialog box will appear, and the associated SMART Practice Aids engagement will already be selected for you. You can either click Open to open this engagement or select a different engagement to associate with your client engagement in Engagement CS. Database location and multi-user access On the Open Engagement screen in SMART, there is a choice to allow multiple users for this engagement. This allows multiple staff people to be working in the same client engagement file in SMART at the same time. A best practice for using multi-users is to use a shared database installation. This will give you even more flexibility so you can work on a local computer drive, browse to a network folder, or browse to a peer-to-peer network location of laptops connected in the field. Complete installation instructions for the shared database are available on our customer help center at support.rg.thomsonreuters.com. Additional information for multi-user help can be found in the help system of SMART Practice Aids by clicking the Multi-user Help button. 3

4 Selecting the Create a New Engagement option will display the Engagement Setup wizard in SMART. Once you have created and saved the engagement, it will be associated with the corresponding client engagement in Engagement CS. 4

5 Licensed users of SMART Practice Aids - Field Work will see additional setup questions. You may choose Yes to the question Do you plan to use external engagement management software? on the second dialogue box screen in the Engagement Setup wizard. Choosing Yes allows you to select Engagement CS as the software you plan to use. (Refer to Integrating PPC s SMART Practice Aids Field Work on page 17.) Click Help me decide for additional explanation. Firms use external engagement management software such as Engagement CS to organize and manage their engagement workpapers. SMART Practice Aids - Field Work is designed to allow you to achieve all the benefits of having your entire PPC engagement within SMART while continuing to use your engagement management software to organize and manage your engagement workpapers. Selecting Yes will provide the following functionality in SMART: Blocks the ability to sign-off (and finalize) at the document level in SMART since it is assumed that these activities will be done in Engagement CS. Allows you add only PPC Forms that are SMART enabled for sharing of key data with other forms, since it is assumed that all other document types will be managed in Engagement CS. Provides automatic prompting at the beginning of your engagement to create SMART Docs for placement in Engagement CS and subsequent prompting to update SMART Docs when documents have changed. Provides warnings when navigating to documents for which might not have rights in Engagement CS. Gives you the option of invoking full Navigation pane functionality, which allows you to view your documents in SMART in a tree list view. 5

6 Generate Planning Forms, Audit Programs, and Other Documents For additional information, refer to Integrating PPC s SMART Practice Aids Field Work on page 17. When you use SMART Practice Aids Risk Assessment, completed planning forms, tailored audit programs and other documents are generated out of the software application as Practice Aids documents. To generate documents in SMART Practice Aids, select Generation from the dropdown menu in the Navigation pane on the left. Select the type of document you want under Generate Documents in the left navigation pane, select one or more documents you want to generate, and click Create Practice Aids. The PPC forms will be stored directly in the client engagement in Engagement CS. The path that appears is already linked to the CS file so there is no need to browse or type in a path location, click OK to use the existing path. 6

7 The first time you generate PPC forms from SMART Practice Aids, the documents will be housed in the Not yet filed folder. It is very easy for you to use click and drag to move the documents to any folder location that you choose for organization. Another option to organize the documents is to use File>Process Unfiled Workpapers. Select Move this workpaper to another folder and click Next. 7

8 In Workpaper Properties, the Rollforward setting is automatically set to Replace from SMART Practice Aids. 8

9 Making Changes after the Documents are Generated For additional information, refer to Integrating PPC s SMART Practice Aids Field Work on page 17. Using SMART Practice Aids Risk Assessment, completed planning forms, tailored audit programs and other documents are generated out of the software application as Practice Aids documents. Firms have found that when reviewers perform a review of the planning forms and tailored audit programs in SMART Practice Aids before the engagement work begins, the process is streamlined and more efficient. Should it be necessary to make changes to the planning forms or audit programs after the engagement work beings, there are a few ways to accomplish this, depending on the complexity of the change. Please read this entire section to learn the benefits of using the Update SMART Engagement feature when making changes to generated audit programs. As a best practice, making changes in SMART Practice Aids ensures that client data is correct and complete for rollforward to next year. You can then generate one or more of the planning forms and audit programs. If the change affects information on planning forms, from Generate Planning Forms, simply select the forms that have changed using the green checkmarks, and create those selected Practice Aids documents. This will create new, updated planning forms in the Not yet filed folder in the client engagement in Engagement CS. If the change affects audit programs, from Generate Audit Programs, simply select the audit programs that have changed using the green checkmarks, and create those selected Practice Aids documents. This will create new, updated audit programs in the Not yet filed folder in the client engagement in Engagement CS. Any existing step sign-offs and workpaper references in the previous Word document will not be retained. 9

10 In Engagement CS, use File>Process Unfiled Workpapers. Select Replace existing workpaper and click Next. 10

11 Perhaps the change affects an audit program, but the engagement work is already in process and some procedures on that program have already been performed. The auditor should use their judgment to determine if it is appropriate to create a new, updated audit program, or to change procedures on the existing audit program. To insert a procedure in the existing audit program Practice Aid Word document created from SMART Practice Aids Risk Assessment, insert a row where the procedure should be added. To do this, position the cursor where the row should be inserted and select Table>Insert>Row Below (or Row Above). Use the Update SMART Engagement feature when you have made changes to a Practice Aid audit program document generated by SMART Practice Aids and you want the changes applied to the version within SMART Practice Aids. You can initiate the update from the PPC menu within the document in Microsoft Word or from the Tools menu within SMART Practice Aids. Refer to the help topic Update SMART Engagement for more information. This feature is only available on audit programs generated from SMART Risk Assessment. 11

12 Engagement Rollforward With Engagement Rollforward, you can create a new engagement that is based on a prior period engagement and bring forward settings and customizations from the prior period engagement. You also have the option in SMART Practice Aids to bring forward planning form responses, identified risks, and risk assessments, as well as audit approaches from the prior period engagement. In SMART, you can also view significant PPC changes to planning form questions and audit procedures and see the differences between current period audit procedures and procedures used in the prior period. To prepare for rollforward, in Engagement CS, ensure that the Rollforward setting is Replace from SMART Practice Aids on all documents used in SMART. Select Workpaper Properties from the Edit menu or right-click menu. 12

13 Start by opening the client engagement in Engagement CS and select Roll Forward from the File menu. Detailed instructions can also be found in the Help menu in Engagement CS. On the Roll Forward Options dialog box, indicate whether you want to retain workpaper assignments and staff privileges. Then click Continue. Verify and complete the information on the Roll Forward Engagement Properties dialog box and click Next. 13

14 The Roll Forward - Workpaper Settings dialog box lists each of the workpapers and the applicable Roll Forward setting for each one. To change the setting for a workpaper, click the drop-down arrow and select one of these settings: Include Exclude Replace from PPC Template Replace from selected engagement Replace from SMART Practice Aids Documents that were added from the Checkpoint Tools for PPC, such as an engagement letter, will be replaced with the newer version from the PPC template. Documents such as checklists and audit programs that came from SMART Practice Aids will again be replaced from SMART Practice Aids next year. When you are satisfied with all settings, click Next to continue. On the Roll Forward - Replace Workpapers dialog box, review the workpaper titles listed in the Replacement Workpaper column. To change a replacement workpaper title, select the title and then click Select Replacement Workpaper. On the Roll Forward - Rename Workpaper dialog box, you have the option to change the workpaper reference or name for any workpaper used by the engagement. Click in a field and edit or replace the reference or name. Click Next to continue. 14

15 On the Roll Forward - Finish dialog box, click Finish to initiate the final steps of the Rollforward process. You also have the options to return to a previous page of the dialog box or to cancel. When the Engagement Properties window appears, review the information on each tab and make any applicable changes. Then click OK. Once the Roll Forward in Engagement CS is complete, you will automatically be prompted to rollforward the related SMART Practice Aids engagement. Selecting Yes will launch SMART Practice Aids and open the client engagement file that was linked to the client engagement in Engagement CS. Complete the rollforward process in SMART Practice Aids. See Engagement Rollforward in Help menu in SMART Practice Aids for more details. 15

16 In the rolled forward client engagement in Engagement CS, documents with the Roll Forward setting Replace from SMART Practice Aids have been replaced with a placeholder. After completing the PPC Forms in the rolled forward client engagement in SMART for the second year, the generated documents will automatically be placed in the location of the placeholder, and not in the Not yet filed folder. Documents such as an engagement letter with the Roll Forward setting Replace from PPC Template have been replaced with the newer version from Checkpoint Tools. 16

17 Integrating PPC s SMART Practice Aids Field Work When using SMART Practice Aids Field Work with Engagement CS, you continue to manage your engagement as you do now. Now, SMART Practice Aids is not just for the planning process. Field Work provides all the capability to do your field work as well by providing automation to complete PPC forms for the entire audit process, from beginning to end. You will continue storing your completed PPC forms in your engagement software using new Field Work functionality that will help you improve that integration. What is different in SMART Practice Aids Field Work from the prior process using SMART Practice Aids Risk Assessment? More PPC forms are automated in SMART, such as CX-2 Materiality and CX-8 Sampling Form, so that data and decision information are automatically carried between forms. Complete audit programs in SMART, sign-off on steps and create linked workpaper references to PPC forms stored in SMART. Make changes to risk assessment and audit program tailoring if necessary, and retain all prior step-sign off work. SMART Navigator and Dashboard provide status of steps not started, in progress, and completed. The next few pages in this document will identify some of the ways that SMART Practice Aids functionality is used in performing field work. For additional training on all of the functionality for using SMART Practice Aids Field Work, sign up for a training class at support.rg.thomsonreuters.com/training. In SMART Practice Aids Field Work, the engagement opens to the SMART Navigator where you are guided through the entire PPC engagement process in the most efficient manner, from beginning to end. It also provides a convenient visual status of each step in your engagement. 17

18 You can start on any line, or click View Audit Program. In Completion view, from the right-click menu, select Step Sign-off as you complete procedures. 18

19 Select SMART Navigator from top menu bar to view updated status indicators every step of the way. Use Dashboard for statistics on the overall engagement or individual audit area for steps not started, in progress, or completed. (Use Dashboard instead of Unsigned Program Steps diagnostic report in Engagement CS.) 19

20 From the right-click menu, select Insert Workpaper Reference to create a link to any workpaper stored in SMART. Best practice for Engagement CS users, you will use this for PPC forms in SMART. Use Insert Memo Reference to refer to workpapers stored in Engagement CS, such as scanned documents from the client or Excel workpapers linked to trial balance numbers. (This will be a reference, not a link.) 20

21 In SMART, even after audit programs are tailored based on your risk assessment, and you have already signed off on program steps, you can easily switch from Completion view to Design view and make additional changes to the audit program if necessary, while still retaining previous sign-off work. 21

22 Create SMART Docs Once you have completed PPC forms in SMART, you will then Create SMART Docs, which are the completed forms that will be stored in your client engagement in Engagement CS. Select Create SMART Docs from the Tools menu in SMART. Select one or more documents and click Create. The path that appears is already linked to the client engagement in Engagement CS so there is no need to browse or type in a path, click OK. A flag icon next to the document name indicates that the document has never been created or has changed since the last time it was created, making it easy to stay in sych with workpapers stored in Engagement CS. If documents have changed and you close the engagement without creating SMART Docs, you will receive a reminder. 22

23 Once the SMART Docs are stored within Engagement CS, you can use the functionality to sign off on the document as preparer and reviewer. 23

24 As you are reviewing the PPC Forms that were completed in SMART, you may see that you need to make a change to one of the documents. Opening the document in Engagement CS opens in Word. You can see the information that was completed in SMART Practice Aids. If you need to make a change, this document is your read only review copy. Notice that everything on the menu bar up above is grayed out. You want to make sure that you and your staff are always using the functionality that is available in SMART so that information is dynamically carried as needed. When you need to make a change to this document, select the PPC menu in Word, and then select Open workpaper in SMART Practice Aids. Answer the prompt Yes to close the Word document. 24

25 The SMART Practice Aids application is launched and that document is immediately opened within SMART Practice Aids. You are now able to make changes to that document within SMART. On the audit programs, it is very easy to change from Completion view to Design views so that if you need to continue to modify steps, insert a custom procedure, or drag and drop procedures to the right pane. Switching immediately back to Completion view allows you to continue signing off on your audit program steps and retains all prior work. 25

26 Because that document changed in SMART, you will create the SMART Doc again to replace the version that is in the client engagement in Engagement CS. From the Tools menu, select Create SMART Docs. A flag next to the document will indicate the document has changed since the last time it was created. And again, the path is already entered to the client engagement in Engagement CS, so click OK. 26

27 Notice again that the document has been generated to the not yet filed folder. Select File>Process Unfiled Workpapers and then select Replace an existing workpaper. Select the previous version of the workpaper, click Next and then click Finish. This ensures that you always have the latest SMART document contained in your Engagement CS client file. 27

28 Using Checkpoint Tools and PPC s SMART Practice Aids in Virtual Office CS What is Virtual Office CS? Virtual Office CS, included in the CS Professional Suite from Thomson Reuters, offers anytime, anywhere remote software access, relieving firms of the IT burden and ensuring business continuance. The Virtual Office CS environment provides the full line of CS Professional Suite tax and accounting software, Checkpoint Tools, PPC s SMART Practice Aids, and select Microsoft products. Getting Started using Checkpoint Tools and PPC s SMART Practice Aids in Virtual Office CS: With Virtual Office CS, users can access their licensed Checkpoint Tools and PPC s SMART Practice Aids products without having to download and install to a local workstation. Follow these important steps to get started: Each licensed user of Checkpoint Tools and PPC s SMART Practice Aids must have an active order for their licensed products assigned to their Checkpoint User ID in the Checkpoint User Administration System. For information on assigning users, check with your firm s Site Administrator, or refer to the instructions at To place a new order for Checkpoint Tools or PPC s SMART Practice Aids, contact your sales representative at In Virtual Office CS, launch Checkpoint Tools, either by clicking the icon on the VO Desktop or by inserting a PPC document into Engagement CS. In the Checkpoint Tools main application, select Tools/VO Options/Set/Update Login Information. On the Set/Update Account Information screen, enter your Checkpoint User Name and Checkpoint e- mail address for that User Name and click the Submit button. If the VO user does not see an icon for Checkpoint Tools, the NetStaff Administrator should assign the Staff permissions to the application Checkpoint Tools: 1. Select the NetStaff tab. 2. Select Users on the left. 3. Next to the user login, click Permissions in the Actions column. 4. Mark "PPC Checkpoint Tools" in the Virtual Office section. Note: To use PPC s SMART Practice Aids in Virtual Office CS, you must request to have this product added to Virtual Office CS. Please call CS Customer Service at (800) , option 1. Integrating Engagement CS and Checkpoint Tools in Virtual Office CS: In Engagement CS, select File/New/Document, select the PPC tab, select Document from Checkpoint Tools, and then click the Continue button. Users must be properly licensed and assigned to the Checkpoint Tools product they are selecting a document from. If they do not have permissions for the product, they will not be able to edit the document. 28

29 Integrating Engagement CS and PPC s SMART Practice Aids in Virtual Office CS: To integrate these applications directly, PPC s SMART Practice Aids must be launched from the icon within the Engagement CS client. Users must be properly licensed and assigned to each PPC s SMART Practice Aids modules they want to use. Follow these important steps to get started: The first time you select PPC s SMART Practice Aids in Virtual Office CS, you will be prompted to provide information that helps verify which products you are licensed to use (for example, SMART Practice Aids - Risk Assessment or SMART Practice Aids - Internal Control). In SMART Practice Aids, select Tools/VO Options/Set/Update Login Information. In the Set/Update Account Information screen, enter your Checkpoint User Name and Checkpoint e- mail address for that User Name and click the Submit button. In subsequent launches of the product from Virtual Office CS, if newly licensed products are not available, you can refresh your licensed products list by selecting VO Options from the SMART Practice Aids Tools menu, and then click Refresh Product List. When you access SMART Practice Aids from Virtual Office CS, most functionality works the same way it works for a local installation, but with a few minor differences. For example, the option to point to another database is not available since you will already be linked to a firm SMART Practice Aids database that is set up for you. Product Support: For assistance with Virtual Office CS or Engagement CS, please call For assistance with Checkpoint Tools or PPC s SMART Practice Aids, call

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