PBC request list software for audit teams

Every auditor knows how a PBC list goes wrong. It starts as a clean Excel workbook. By fieldwork there are three versions in circulation, the controller has replied to the wrong one, half the support arrived in a zip file attached to an email nobody filed, and the senior is spending the morning reconciling “received” against “actually what we asked for”. Partners then ask the question nobody can answer quickly: is this engagement late because of us, or because of the client?

PBC request list software should replace the workbook and the inbox with one shared list that both sides work from. In InflowSheet, each engagement and period has one request list. The firm works from it and the client answers it, and the same list doubles as the audit PBC list and the tax document checklist.

Build the PBC list from what you already use

Firms rarely want to start from a blank page. A request list can be built from a previous engagement, from a saved template, or from scratch. It can also be uploaded from an Excel template, in either column or matrix form, so a list kept in Excel can be brought in rather than retyped (ask us which layouts the template accepts).

When a client rolls into a new period, the responsible people and account mappings carry forward and due dates move 12 months ahead. Chat, statuses, received files, risk ratings and last year’s TB analysis do not roll. Last year’s open questions don’t reappear as this year’s noise.

Rows are grouped into sections and show the section, the document requested, who it is assigned to, whether it has been received, its review state and its status. Every row also carries a risk rating.

See what is waiting on whom

The review states keep the firm’s queue and the client’s queue apart:

Above the table, “What needs your attention” cards filter the list: To Validate, Missing, and Needs Review, which holds items that are high risk or that an agent flagged. Tabs for All, Received, To Validate and Missing, plus filters and a column chooser, keep a long audit list workable.

Across the practice, Reports show open and overdue requests, how long clients take to answer, and a “What this says” summary for each report. That is the readiness view a manager needs before deciding whether to push a client or move a field date.

Review each item, not just the receipt

Clients upload straight onto the request item, and uploads that need a look wait as pending until a firm user reviews them. A completeness agent compares each received document with what was requested and looks for the wrong type, wrong year or wrong entity. Its finding shows expected against observed, the document’s contents, suggested questions for the client and a confidence level.

The agent only recommends. A person validates the item, questions it, or leaves it to validate, on the row or in bulk. Questioning an item can send a message from the review panel straight into that request’s chat, so the controller sees what is wrong next to the document they sent. AI-assisted output requires professional review; validating stays with the engagement team.

Chasing without a second inbox

Every request row has its own chat thread. The question about the loan agreement lives on the loan agreement row. A colleague can be @mentioned on the thread and gets an email notification.

For items still missing, a Chase agent drafts a follow-up naming what is outstanding. Someone on the team edits it, approves it and posts it to the request chat as themselves, or deletes it. By default nothing goes to the client until a person approves it. The request list’s Inflow Agent panel also offers shortcut prompts, such as showing high-risk requests and summarizing progress; the demo only hovers over it, so its answers are not shown.

Tie requests to the trial balance and the evidence

A PBC list exists to support the audit file, so it helps when the list and the file are in one place. In InflowSheet the request list sits on the same engagement as the trial balance, the evidence and the audit program.

• A trial balance the client uploads to a request row can be analyzed from that row (“Analyze Now”). Importing it is what activates the financial workspace.
• The binder assembles the audit file by index, and shows what isn’t filed yet.
• On the Evidence page, staff pick a lead schedule and a source document and mark each line Supported, Derived, No evidence or Exception. See audit evidence management.

Every request row also links to its own folder in the engagement’s SharePoint (“Open folder in SharePoint”), so PBC support can live in the firm’s own SharePoint (see our Security page).

Honest notes on the demo and the limits

• The demo workspace contains only tax engagements, so the screenshots and the walkthrough show a tax request list. The audit PBC list is the same request list with your audit items in it.
• There is no formal risk-assessment module. Risk appears as a rating on each request.
• Reminders are drafted for approval by default. A firm can opt an agent into autonomous mode for routine items, and those reminder emails are held for 15 minutes before they send.
• Requests are per engagement and period. Shared documents across a tax and an audit engagement for the same client are not shown in the demo.

If you are comparing request-list tools, our Suralink alternative page sets out the differences with sources. For a practical method that works with any tool, read how to organize audit PBC requests.

Watch the request list

The request list walkthrough shows attention cards, review states, a completeness finding and a drafted follow-up on one demo engagement.

Full walkthrough · 4:13 · access requiredClient document requestsOne request list per engagement: what came in, what is wrong with it, and what to send next.

The evidence, programs and binder walkthrough picks up where the request list ends.

Full walkthrough · 3:02 · access requiredEvidence, programs and binderEvidence by lead schedule line, your own audit program with two signatures, and a binder indexed A to G.

InflowSheet is $10 per user per month, with the auditor request list, the trial balance and the binder included for every user. See pricing.