A Wrong-Year Document in the Client File: Keeping It Out of the AI Pass

A client uploads a brokerage statement, and it looks right: the account, the name, every page. Then the Preparer reads the period printed at the top, and it's the period before the one the Firm is working on. Or a payer's annual statement turns up twice, and one copy is for a different year. The document is real; it just isn't for this engagement.

In this method, the Preparer sets a wrong year document in the client file aside and keeps it out of the draft. The Preparer reads the period on each document against the period the engagement covers, records both on the file index, and sets the status of any mismatch to out of period by hand. The Preparer asks the client for the right one, and nothing from the out-of-period copy goes into the drafting pass or stays in the draft.

The plugin drafts; the Firm's preparer prepares; the Reviewer signs off. Every step here is one the Firm writes and keeps, in whatever systems the Firm already uses, and the Firm can adapt the document-handling steps; the Reviewer's sign-off on the whole file stays as it is.

This piece gives an index row layout, a status table, a client request message, an instruction line, a pre-review check and a Doe example.

A wrong-year document, a comparison and a corrected copy

Three cases can put similar-looking documents in the folder. When the Firm keeps an earlier period's documents on purpose to compare against, that's a prior-period comparison.

When a statement for the right period comes back corrected, the Firm has two copies of one statement, and the question is which copy is current.

This piece is about the third case: the client sent a document for a period the engagement doesn't cover, by mistake. In this method, the Preparer reads the period printed on the document, not the file name or the upload date.

The file index row: period on the document and engagement period

The Firm can add these columns to the file index it already keeps, as in setting up the client folder. Each copy of a document gets its own row.

Period on document comes from the document itself: a heading, a statement date range or a label with a period beside it. If the document doesn't print one, the Preparer writes "not printed" and notes what points to a period.

In this method, the Preparer keeps an out-of-period copy in the folder's set-aside place and notes the mismatch on its index row. It isn't deleted, renamed to look current or swapped out.

A status for each copy

In this method, the Preparer sets each copy's status by hand. The Firm can rename the statuses.

Asking the client for the right one

In this method, the Preparer asks the client for the document for the engagement period and names the one that came in. The Firm can adapt this message:

Hi Jane, thanks for sending the brokerage statement. The copy we have is for [period on document], and the work we're doing for you covers [engagement period]. Could you send the statement for [engagement period] instead? We'll keep the one you sent set aside. Thanks, Alex at the Firm

The message names the document the way the client knows it, says which period to look for, and says nothing about the draft.

A line for the Firm's AI instructions

In this method, the Firm adds a line, in its own words, to its instructions for the drafting pass while an out-of-period copy waits for its replacement. A version to adapt:

"Out of period: [document, copy ID] is for [period on document]; this engagement covers [engagement period]. It is not supplied for this pass; draft nothing from it."

The line repeats what the index records. The Preparer doesn't supply the out-of-period copy for drafting, and still checks each drafted entry's cited document against the index by hand.

If the copy already went into a draft

In this method, if a drafting pass ran with an out-of-period copy in it before its period was read, the Preparer lists every entry that cites it and takes each one out of the draft by hand. The Preparer writes a note on the copy's index row naming the entries taken out, so the Reviewer sees what came out and why.

Nothing drafted from the out-of-period copy stays in the draft.

When the right document arrives

In this method, the right document gets its own row on the file index, with its own period and the status in period. The out-of-period copy's row stays, its status changed by hand to out of period, replaced.

The Preparer supplies the in-period copy for drafting, checks each drafted entry against it, and takes the out-of-period line out of the Firm's instructions.

If the client says there's no document for the engagement period, the Preparer writes that on the row and keeps the status as it is. Any entry that would have come from it stays open, with a note for the Reviewer, and the Reviewer decides what happens next.

The pre-review check

In this method, the Preparer reads the file against this check before it goes to the Reviewer. The Firm can add its own lines.

• Each copy has its period on document recorded, or "not printed" with a note.
• The engagement period is written on the index.
• Every copy whose period doesn't match carries a status other than in period, set by hand.
• Every out-of-period copy sits in the set-aside place, with its row, mismatch note and client request naming the period.
• No drafted entry cites an out-of-period copy or a copy whose period is unclear.
• The Firm's instructions hold a line for each out-of-period copy still waiting for its replacement, and none for a replaced one.
• Any copy with no right document to come has a note for the Reviewer saying what was sent and what was asked.

Who reads the period and who decides

The Firm decides who does each step. In this method, the Preparer who has the file reads the periods, sets the statuses, asks the client and takes out any entries drafted from an out-of-period copy, or the Firm names someone else. Either way, people at the Firm do every step.

A status tells the Reviewer what's set aside and why. It isn't a sign-off and doesn't stand in for one. The Reviewer sees every set-aside copy and its note, decides on anything left open, and the Reviewer signs off on the whole file, set-aside notes included. No file is done without the Reviewer's sign-off.

A Doe example

The names and file below are made up for illustration.

Jane Doe owns Doe Holdings, a synthetic client of the Firm. Alex Doe is the Preparer and Pat Doe is the Reviewer.

Jane uploads a brokerage statement. Alex reads the period at the top of the statement and sees it's the period before the engagement period on the index. Alex records the period and mismatch on the statement's row, sets its status to out of period by hand, and keeps the copy set aside with its row.

Alex sends Jane the request message and adds the out-of-period line to the Firm's instructions. Alex supplies the in-period documents for drafting and leaves the statement out. Alex checks each drafted entry's cited document against the index; none cites the set-aside statement.

Jane sends the statement for the engagement period. Alex gives it its own index row, sets it to in period, and changes the set-aside copy's status to out of period, replaced, by hand.

Alex supplies the new statement for drafting, checks each entry drafted from it, and takes the out-of-period line out of the instructions. Alex runs the pre-review check and sends the file to Pat. Pat reviews the set-aside copy's note and the new entries, decides on anything left open, and signs off on the whole file.

Where TracePrep fits

We've built a TracePrep plugin that drafts these steps in your Firm's workflow, while your preparer decides and your Reviewer signs off. Join the waitlist and we'll tell you when plugin access opens.

Get on the list for plugin access

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. In TracePrep's workflow, the plugin drafts, the Firm's preparer prepares, and the Firm's Reviewer signs off. Access to the plugin is by waitlist. Keep client data inside the systems your Firm has approved.