The Financial Reporting Interactive Checklist provides a unique process to help you work through complex compliance procedures. You can access the Interactive Checklists from the Tools tab or from the Accounting, Audit & Corporate Finance practice area..
If you want to search for a specific checklist, click the Search link to open the Interactive Checklists search template.
Pop-up Help
Depending on the answers you give to checklist questions, interactive pop-up screens will appear from time to time. Please read them carefully, as they contain important information and links to other relevant content. You may also notice graphical icons throughout the checklist. Wherever you see these icons, click on them for more detail relating to the specific question you are working on. You can choose to include the text of these details in your assembled document by selecting the appropriate checkbox.
Reports
Once you have completed the checklists you will have the option to Preview and/or Assemble a report. The report will consolidate the responses you provided in a single word document. You can also print the actual checklist itself independently of the report by using the “print” function of your browser within that window.
Saving and Restoring Checklists/Previously Saved Answers
Once you have completed the checklist (or if you wish to save a partially completed one), simply click on the Save Answers button. The first time you click on this button you will be prompted to select a folder in which to save the answers, and then to enter a name to identify the saved answers. Once you have entered the name, click on the Save button. You will receive a message stating that your answers have been successfully saved.
Please note that when you click on the Save Answers button, you will also have the option to delete or reset previously saved versions of your answers.
To restore previously saved answers click on the Get Answers button. When you do this, you will see a screen that contains a list of previously saved versions. Select the version you wish to restore and click on the link corresponding to that set of answers to import them into the current document. You will receive a message stating that your answers have been successfully restored. Note that Get Answers will not overwrite or change any items you have already answered: the previously stored answers will only apply to any items you have not answered at the point that you click “Get Answers.
You can also retrieve the checklist, with your saved answers, via your Checkpoint folder. From any screen in Checkpoint, click Folders, then navigate to the folder in which you saved your answers. Click the name of the checklist you wish to retrieve, and it will appear, along with the answers you had saved.
Previewing/Assembling Your Report
To see a Preview version of your report, click Preview at the bottom of the window. This will generate a word processing document that is very similar to your final report, except that (1) any answers you provided will be highlighted with a green background, and (2) any items you have not answered will be highlighted with a yellow background.
To see a final version of your report, click Assemble at the bottom of the window. This will generate a report, as described above. You can either print this report, or save it to a file on your hard drive or network folder.
If there are any items you did not answer before clicking Preview or Assemble, you will see a series of question marks [???] where answers should otherwise appear. Also, a caution statement will appear at the top of the report stating that “This is an incomplete draft for internal use only."
Updating the Form
Some items in the Checklist may require that you enter a date or a number, and that date or number may be reformatted for the final report. (E.g., “Jan 1, 2005” may be changed to “1/1/2005”.)
To verify that you entered a valid date or number, and to see how that date or number will be reformatted, click Update Form. If there are any invalid entries, you will be prompted to correct them. If there are no invalid entries, the dates and/or numbers you entered will be automatically reformatted as they will appear in the preview or final report.
Closing the Checklist
When you have finished working with a form, click Close to close the checklist window and return to your research session.
History
When you open an interactive Checklist, Checkpoint automatically creates an item in your History list corresponding to the Checklist. Then, whenever you click Save Answers, Preview, Assemble or Update Answers, the History item is updated with any answers you have entered.
When you click that History item, during the same or a later Checkpoint session, the form will be redisplayed, along with any answers that had been stored with the History item.
Each checklist has the following options available at the bottom of the checklist window.
Save Answers
Click the Save Answers button to save a checklist, even on that is only partially completed. The first time you click this button you will be prompted to select a folder in which to save the answers, and then to enter a name to identify the saved answers. Once you have entered the name, click the Save button. You will receive a message stating that your answers have been successfully saved.
Please note that when you click the Save Answers button, you will also have the option to delete or reset previously saved versions of your answers.
Get Answers
Click the Get Answers button to restore previously saved answers. When you do this, you will see a screen that contains a list of previously saved versions. Select the version you wish to restore and click on the link corresponding to that set of answers to import them into the current document. You will receive a message stating that your answers have been successfully restored. Note that Get Answers will not overwrite or change any items you have already answered. The previously stored answers will only apply to any items you have not answered at the point that you click Get Answers.
Preview
Click Preview to see a draft version of your report. This feature will generate a word processing document that is very similar to your final report, except that (1) any answers you provided will be highlighted with a green background, and (2) any items you have not answered will be highlighted with a yellow background.
Assemble
Click Assemble to generate a final version of your report. You can either print this report, or save it to a file on your hard drive or network folder.
Update Form
Click Update Form to verify that you entered a valid date or number, and to see how that date or number will be reformatted. If there are any invalid entries, you will be prompted to correct them. If there are no invalid entries, the dates and/or numbers you entered will be automatically reformatted as they will appear in the preview or final report.
Close
Click Close to close the checklist window and return to your research session. Note that if you have not saved your answers, they will be lost.