What is a Lead Schedule?

A lead schedule is a working paper that lists the detailed general ledger accounts comprising a line item in the financial statements. The total on a lead schedule should match the total for the corresponding line item in a client’s financial statements. This schedule is a key part of an audit team’s working papers, and is essential for maintaining an organized set of audit documents.

This schedule is typically constructed in a spreadsheet format by the audit team, and contains cross-references to a series of underlying working papers that provide additional detail regarding each of the accounts stated in the schedule.

A set of working papers for an audit will likely have lead schedules for many balance sheet line items, such as cash, investments, receivables, prepaid expenses, fixed assets, payables, debt, and equity.

Advantages of a Lead Schedule

The key advantages associated with the use of a lead schedule are as follows:

Enhanced structure. A lead schedule is quite useful for giving structure to audit documentation, making it easier to read.
Enhanced cross-referencing. A lead schedule makes it easier to cross-reference between detailed accounts and a client’s financial statements.
Increased accuracy. A lead schedule presents a systematic breakdown of the major financial statement components, which reduces the risk of an omission.