Issuing statements: the final PDF and a locked version
What happens when a firm issues statements in Achekam: who may issue, how the final PDF is fingerprinted and locked, and why it is PDF only.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
"Which version did we send the bank?" is a question every practice has had to answer at some point, usually months later and under some pressure. A client edits a Word copy, a staff member fixes a typo after signing, two PDFs with the same name sit in different folders. The statements the reader relied on and the statements on the file quietly drift apart.
Issuing a set in Achekam is designed to stop that drift. It produces one final PDF, fingerprints it, and locks the version it was made from. This article explains what issuing does, who may do it, what the output looks like and the one format limit firms should know about.
The A4 PDF made on the server
Staff can download a set of statements as an A4 PDF made on Achekam's server. The document is produced by Achekam, not printed from whichever browser the reader happens to use, so the firm is not relying on each person's print settings to get a presentable set.
Drafts downloaded this way are working copies. Use them for review and for discussion with the client, and name them as drafts when they leave the firm.
Who may issue
Issuing is the last step of a sequence of roles, and Achekam enforces that sequence. Each set names a preparer, a reviewer and an engagement partner. Only a user with a partner role can sign. The person recorded as preparer or reviewer cannot issue the set.
Separately, in the Partner Signing Cockpit, a partner signs the firm's financial statements and the signature is bound to that version's content hash. The cockpit asks the partner to confirm acceptance and independence outside Achekam, so keep that confirmation on the engagement file.
Issuing stores the final PDF with a fingerprint
When the set is issued, Achekam stores the final PDF together with a fingerprint of it, and locks that version.
A fingerprint is a short value computed from the exact content of the file. Change a single figure or a single word and the fingerprint changes. That gives the firm a simple way to answer the question at the top of this article: compare the fingerprint of the copy in front of you with the one stored at issue. If they match, it is the issued document. If not, it is something else.
The locked version
Issuing locks the version of the set that the final PDF was made from. That version is the firm's record of what it issued. Further work, such as a correction found after issue, belongs in a new version rather than an edit to the locked one, so the issued set and its PDF stay as they were. The IFRS Foundation's summary of IAS 10 explains what the statements must disclose about the date they were authorised for issue, and when they are adjusted for events after the reporting period.
This mirrors what a reviewer or inspector expects to see: the signed document, the content it was made from, and a clear trail of anything that came later.
PDF only: no Word or Excel export
Achekam does not export financial statements to Word or Excel. They come out as PDF only.
For most uses that is an advantage: a PDF is hard to edit by accident, and the fingerprint means an edited copy can be spotted. It does cause friction in a few situations, and it is better to plan for them than to discover them at deadline:
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| A lender wants figures in a spreadsheet | Provide the trial balance or a schedule separately, and say it is not the statements |
| The client wants to edit wording | Agree the change, make it in Achekam and reissue as a new version |
| A tax computation needs the figures | Work from the trial balance and mapped lines, not from retyped PDF figures |
| A group needs consolidation packs | Prepare those schedules outside the statements |
Firms used to sending editable Word statements to clients should tell them early that the issued set will be a PDF.
The firm's branding on the cover
A firm can upload its logo and record its particulars under SETTINGS > Firm Profile and Branding & Themes. Achekam puts them on what it sends for the firm, including the cover of financial statements. A field the firm has not recorded is left blank, not invented, so a missing practice number or address will simply not appear.
Before the first issue of the season, download a draft and look at the cover with fresh eyes. Check the firm's name, logo, address and any registration details you expect, and fill in whatever is missing in the firm profile.
Board and tax packs
The board and tax packs are the statutory set under another name. Their cards list what is not yet included, which is worth reading before a pack goes to a board or to the client's tax adviser.
Before pressing issue
- Confirm the reviewer has cleared every finding and marker.
- Make sure the client has approved the final draft.
- Check the cover shows the firm's details correctly.
- Have the engagement partner sign; nobody recorded as preparer or reviewer may issue.
- Issue, then send the stored final PDF, not a draft download.
- Record where and to whom the PDF was sent.
After the set is issued
Send only the stored final PDF, and when someone later produces a copy, check it against the fingerprint before you rely on it. The client's approval of the draft, which should come before issue, is covered in getting the client's approval on draft statements. South African firms preparing iXBRL from the issued set should read iXBRL for CIPC: why packs are marked TEST.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
