Original Message From CHUCK THOMPSON To BRIAN HILLIS...
CT>ú If you have an audit requirement that demanding, I doubt that you
CT>ú should use Quicken in the first place, which was my line of thinking.
Precisely....
CT>ú However, I've used a number of accounting systems where entries
CT>ú could be changed, and the period "rerun" -- I'm not an auditor but
CT>ú most auditors I know do their own calculations and check computerized
CT>ú figures against the original sources (i.e., compare actual checks 
gainst
CT>ú the amounts entered in the computer).  Seems to me that changing entries
CT>ú to correct errors might even help an audit?
I am neither an auditor nor an accountant, but what I've had
explain to me by MY auditor, the more that the auditor can trust
your accounting/bookkeeping practices, the easier the job of
auditing, and the less it costs the customer to have it done.
Also, don't forget that the auditor isn't only checking your
calculations, but whether on not you have followed proper
accounting practices.  In other words, not only are the numbers
correct, but the manner in which you've processed them is ALSO
correct. 
Part of this involves a proper "audit trail"..., and changing
entries after they have been posted kills an accurate audit
trail.  In fact, it's my understanding that if an auditor finds
a "changed" entry (rather than a correcting entry), there is
some question as to whether a proper auditor's report can be
issued, since there's no way to verify the original entry.
This is why an auditor, after completing your audit, may provide
you with a list of correcting entries, rather than having you go
back and "change" the originals, or add new entries where they
chronologically should have appeared.
I know this is getting off-topic, but as an example, typically,
a police officer is allowed to refer to his notebook for
reference when giving evidence in a court case.  HOWEVER..., if
a good defence lawyer can find a single CHANGE (something rubbed
out and rewritten, or a page missing) in the notes, he can have
the notebook (and probably anything else written by that same
officer) thrown out altogether.  For this reason, in order to
comply with various federal or provincial/state evidence acts,
police officers traditionally "strike out" mistakes in their
notebooks, and replace them with a correcting entry.
The bottom line to all of this is..., while it may look neater
to have every entry perfectly correct..., it's a lot more
realistic that your might make the odd error, and then catch it
later. 
Cheers...., Brian        EMail:  bhillis@pro-mail.com
                           Web:  http://www.pro-mail.com
                          Fido:  Brian Hillis@1:250/1004
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