INDUSTRY FIELD GUIDE
CPA workpaper tie-out and audit evidence for AI
A CPA practice can show how to trace an adjusted balance back to a workpaper and supporting evidence.
NAICS 541211 · Offices of Certified Public Accountants
A CPA practice can show how to trace an adjusted balance back to a workpaper and supporting evidence. AICPA publishes resources on audit evidence. Scale Labs’ PRBench uses expert-authored finance tasks with detailed rubrics, a public example of models being scored on professional reasoning. AICPA audit evidence resources · Scale PRBench
Build a fictional trial balance, a lead schedule and one approved adjustment. Put a second, unapproved change in a draft workpaper. Ask the model to compute the supported total and cite the specific adjustment and review state. Score the calculation, evidence trail and unresolved difference separately.
Use original schedules and invented numbers. Exclude client ledgers, working papers, tax identifiers, internal methodology and confidential engagement files. Keep audit judgments with qualified staff.
Describe an original CPA evaluation sample
Original Fiund exercise
Only the approved adjustment belongs in the supported tie-out
An original fictional trial balance and workpaper use abstract units. The exercise checks arithmetic and evidence state, not an audit opinion or actual client engagement.
| Record | Source | What it records |
|---|---|---|
| CPW1 | Practice trial balance | Account A opening balance 100; lead schedule explicitly references that source. |
| CPW2 | Approved adjustment J1 | Adds 20 to A, approved by reviewer R and linked to the lead schedule. |
| CPW3 | Draft workpaper J2 | Proposes subtracting 5 from A; approval absent. Draft total 115 includes J1 and J2. |
Question for the model
Which adjusted total is supported by the approved records, and what explains the difference from the draft 115?
Show the reference answer and checks
CPW1 and CPW2 support an adjusted A total of 100+20=120. CPW3's 115 also applies the proposed minus-five J2, which lacks approval. The five-unit difference is therefore an unresolved draft adjustment rather than a new approved balance. Trace the supported total to the trial balance and J1 review state, without issuing an audit judgment or treating a workpaper formula as its own authority.
- Including an unapproved adjustment because it appears in the latest workpaper total.
- Calling a numerically tied schedule an audit opinion or verified engagement outcome.
Fields to preserve
- Account and source balance
- Defines the starting total.
- Adjustment amount, sign and approval
- Makes the supported arithmetic traceable.
- Draft difference and reviewer state
- Preserves the unresolved item rather than silently posting it.
Test another case
Approve J2 for a different account B only. Require account-specific matching rather than incorporating it into A from the same adjustment ID family.
Use invented schedules and numbers. Exclude ledgers, tax IDs, internal methodology and confidential workpapers; audit judgments stay with qualified staff.
Discuss a contribution
Describe the sources you control, the task they could support and what has already been checked. Use the existing-data assessment for an archive or the collection brief for a new recording project. The contributor agreement defines Fiund’s licensing authority and compensation. A guide or fictional exercise does not establish an accepted collection or a sale.