Preparer Self-Review: Checks to Run Before an AI-Drafted File Goes to the Reviewer

An AI-drafted entry list can reach the Reviewer with gaps the Preparer could have closed before hand-off: a row with no page, a file left off the index, a note from last round with no answer. The Firm can include these gaps in its pre-hand-off checks. A preparer self-review of an AI-drafted file is the Preparer's own pass before it goes up. It doesn't redo the draft, and it doesn't stand in for the Reviewer. It checks that the file is complete enough to be read back.

The tool drafts the rows. The Preparer checks the file, marks it ready for review with initials, and hands it on. The Reviewer reads it back and decides. Every check below is one a Firm can choose, drop or add to.

What the self-review covers

The Firm sets the scope. In this approach the self-review asks one question of the whole file: can a Reviewer read this back without coming back to ask where something is? It's a pass over the file's own marks, not a second check of every figure.

The Firm can keep the Reviewer's readback of each entry against its page separate from the Preparer's self-review. This self-review checks whether the file's marks and open items are recorded for hand-off.

The Firm can run five checks, in whatever order it picks: every row has a locator, the totals tie, blanks are marked blank, prior notes are answered, and the file index matches the folder. Then the Preparer marks the file.

Every row has a locator

Start with the locator column. A locator is the document name and page a row came from. The Preparer isn't reading the figure against the page here. The check is narrower: is there a page to read against?

Sort the entry list on the locator column and look for two things: an empty cell, and a document name with no page. Each one is a row the Reviewer can't read back.

Under the Firm's rule, the Preparer opens the source, finds the page and fills in the locator. The Preparer writes a short reason beside each change. If the figure can't be found on any page of the named document, the row doesn't get a guessed locator. It goes to the blanks check below, or onto the open items for the hand-off.

The totals tie, and the file says so

The Firm can have the Preparer check that each source document has a tie-out line showing tied or an open difference with a note. The counting and footing method stays in tying out AI-extracted totals to the source.

Blanks are marked blank

Some source lines are empty: a field the client left blank, a box with no amount, a line with nothing printed. The Firm can pick one mark for that, such as "blank on source" plus the page. A row with that mark tells the Reviewer the Preparer looked at the line and found nothing there. An empty cell tells them nothing. It might be a blank line, or a row nobody finished.

The other half of the check runs the opposite way. A row with a figure whose page shows no figure is a filled blank, whatever put it there. The Preparer takes the figure out, marks the row blank on source with its page, and writes the reason. Under the Firm's rule, no estimate sits in a cell meant for a printed figure.

Prior notes are answered

The Firm can have the Preparer confirm that every note from the last round has a response. This check records response presence; clearing remains the Reviewer's call.

The file index matches the folder

The Firm can have the Preparer compare the folder's file count with the index's row count and confirm that every document named in a locator appears on the index. Any mismatch, including a late-added file without an index row, follows the Firm's chosen open-items rule.

Mark it ready for review

When the checks are done, the Preparer marks the file "ready for review" with initials and the date. The Firm picks where the mark sits: the top of the entry list, the file cover, or the hand-off note.

The mark comes with one short self-review line. The Firm can have it record the number of rows, locators added, rows marked blank on source, tie-out lines against documents, notes answered, files in the folder against rows on the index, and any open items. The self-review line stays with the entry list in the Firm's file.

Open items are the Firm's call. One rule is that a file with an open item doesn't get the mark. Another is that it gets the mark with each open item listed by row, so the Reviewer sees it before the readback starts. Either way, the mark never claims more than the Preparer checked. The ready-for-review mark records who checked the file and when.

The mark isn't a sign-off. The Reviewer reads back the file and decides whether to sign off.

A Doe example

The figures below are made up for illustration.

Jane Doe, a Preparer at Doe & Co. CPA, is about to send the Doe Holdings file back to Pat Doe, the Reviewer, after a first round of notes. The AI-drafted entry list has 26 rows from 5 documents.

Locators first. 24 rows carry a document and page, and 2 don't. Jane finds the first row's figure on page 3 of the bank statement and adds the page with a short reason. The second row shows 75.00, but page 2 of its document shows that line empty. She takes the figure out, marks the row blank on source, page 2, and writes why.

Totals next. There are 5 tie-out lines for the 5 documents, and all 5 show tied.

Then the notes. Pat sent 3 last round, and Jane has answered all 3. Two say what changed. The third asks Pat a question back about a row label, so Jane lists it as an open item.

Last, the index. The folder holds 6 files and the index lists 5. The sixth is a client letter added after the draft ran, with no figures in it. Jane adds it to the index as "no entries".

Jane marks the file ready for review with "JD" and the date. Her self-review line reads: 26 rows, 1 locator added, 1 row marked blank on source, 5 tie-out lines for 5 documents, 3 of 3 notes answered, 6 files against 6 index rows, 1 open item (the label question). Pat settles the label question, reads back the file and signs off.

Where TracePrep fits

TracePrep's one shipped workflow today is the Reasonable Compensation Study for an S-corporation shareholder-employee. It's a different job from this self-review, and it keeps the same kinds of records:

We've built a TracePrep plugin that runs these steps in your Firm's workflow.

Want the TracePrep plugin in your Firm? We'll tell you when access opens.

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This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Your licensed professional and your Firm's Reviewer are responsible for every return and every conclusion. Keep client data inside the systems your Firm has approved. As general guidance only, not advice: if you use an AI tool with client data, firms generally look for a business or commercial plan whose terms cover how that data is handled; read the vendor's current terms before you do.