Lock down a file

After issuing the financial statements, you can lock down a Working Papers file. You can choose to lock down the file immediately, or specify the number of days after the report release date to lock down the file. In either scenario, a milestone is created at the time of the lock down.

Prerequisites:

• If the file is protected, you must have the Lock Down group right.
• If you are locking a SmartSync parent file, you must first return it to a non-sync state.
• If you are locking a SmartSync Server file, it must be done through a sync copy. You'll be prompted to abandon sync copies as part of the process, then the lockdown will proceed as usual.
• If you want to add documents to the file after lock down without providing an explanation, you must set up a customized folder first. For more information, see Add documents after lock down.

To select documents to lock down:

1. In Working Papers, open the file that you intend to lock down.
2. In the Document Manager, right-click the column header, then click Show | Lock Down.
3. In the Lock Down column, select the documents you want to include in the lock down, and deselect the documents you want to exclude.

Your documents are ready for the file lock down. Documents that you did not select will remain unlocked and accessible after lock down.

To lock down a Working Papers file:

1. In Working Papers, open the file that you want to lock down.
2. On the ribbon, click Engagement | Lock Down.
3. On the Engagement ribbon, click Lock Down. The Lockdown Wizard displays.
4. On the Welcome screen, select whether to lock down the file immediately, or set a date to lock down the file based on the company's jurisdiction. You can also select the option to set the file to read-only after the lockdown is complete. Click Next.
5. On the Lockdown Considerations screen, you can complete any additional tasks that are suggested prior to file lock down, such as a file cleanup and year end close. Select the tasks to perform, then click Next.
6. If you are locking down a consolidated file, the Lockdown Context screen displays. Select the entity and period context to lock the file down in. Click Next.
7. If the file is protected, the Lockdown Password screen displays. Enter a lock down password if necessary. This password prevents unauthorized users from unlocking the file. Click Next.
8. A summary of the tasks to complete is displayed. To proceed, click Finish.
9. If you selected additional tasks to perform prior to lock down, the associated dialogs will display. Complete them to perform the lock down.

The file and selected documents lock down. If you selected to lock down the file after a specified date, you can continue to modify the file and documents until that date. After the completion date, you must complete the file lock down.

If you've set the file to lock down at a future date, you can modify the lock down parameters prior to lock down from Engagement | Lock Down. If a lock down password was set, you'll need to enter it to make modifications.

Lock down jurisdiction

If you select to lock down the file after a specific date, the final lock down date is calculated automatically based on the company's jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction	Lock down date
Canada	Calculated based on whether the company is public or non-public. The lock down / completion date is 45 days for both public and non-public companies. For engagements where Canadian Auditing Standards (CAS) apply, the lock down / completion date is 60 days for both public and non-public companies.
United States (US)	Calculated based on whether the company is public or non-public. The lock down / completion date is 45 days for a public company and 60 days for a non-public company.
Australia / China / Denmark / Eire / France / Germany / Hong Kong (China) / Indonesia / Malaysia / Netherlands / Philippines / Portugal / Singapore / South Africa / South Africa Other / Spain / Switzerland / United Kingdom	Calculated based on the audit report or report release date, plus the number of days designated in the Lockdown Wizard.