Preparing a first-year audit pack for a Shimane subsidiary

First-year audits take longer because opening balances need more evidence and group reporting packs rarely match local statutory formats one-to-one.

Before you invite fieldwork, assemble:

• Prior-year management accounts and any group auditor letters
• Fixed asset register with depreciation policy notes in Japanese and English
• Lease schedules and related-party service agreements
• Bank confirmations list with branch contacts already identified
• Inventory count instructions translated for warehouse staff

Parent finance teams sometimes send only the consolidation workbook. That is useful, but the statutory file still needs invoices, contracts, and board minutes in the form used locally. Budget an extra week for translation of key policies; it reduces mid-fieldwork pauses more than any late spreadsheet polish.