Disclosure Checklist

Updated September 2026Finance Software Glossary

A disclosure checklist is a structured list of every disclosure that accounting standards and regulators require in a set of financial statements. Preparers and auditors work through it to confirm the statements are complete under the applicable framework, such as US GAAP or IFRS. Major audit firms publish widely used versions updated each year.

Checklists exist because disclosure requirements are large and change every year. US GAAP and IFRS each require hundreds of specific disclosures, and new standards keep adding more. Firms such as EY, PwC, KPMG and Deloitte publish annual checklists that preparers work through line by line, marking each item required, not applicable or complete.

For a controller the checklist is the completeness control at the end of the reporting process. It's usually finished and signed off before the audit committee approves the statements.

In software: disclosure management platforms such as Workiva and CCH Tagetik embed checklist and certification workflows into report production, so sign-off status is tracked next to the document instead of in a separate spreadsheet.