Agree the scope.
Confirm periods, entities, currencies and material topics with your transaction advisers. Change critical flags where your situation requires it; this starter list is not exhaustive.
A practical quality of earnings toolkit
Make the numbers
easy to stand behind.
Organize the evidence, identify the gaps, and give every open item an owner—before financial diligence begins.
Evidence before assertionsTrack support for the financial story, not just uploaded files.
Critical gaps stay visibleCompletion and unresolved critical items are shown separately.
Your working copyUse the example, edit locally, then export a checklist.
01 / The working file
Quality of earnings
readiness checklist.
Start with a fictional example or clear the statuses. “Ready” means the supporting evidence has been prepared and reviewed by your team—not that an adviser has accepted it.
Evidence readiness workspace
Fictional example · 20 preparation items
Print, export & reset
- Start: explore the fictional example, load a project or use Clear entries under “Print, export & reset”.
- Review: update statuses, owners and evidence notes; check the weakest workstreams.
- Keep: save a JSON project before leaving. CSV and print are review copies, not resumable saves.
Initial example · no changes
Save a JSON project to resume later. CSV is for review and sharing; it cannot be loaded back into this tool.
—Evidence ready
Ready items ÷ applicable items
—Unresolved critical items
Critical, applicable items not marked Ready
—Open items without an owner
Assign accountability before requesting more files
Readiness by workstream
These totals include every request, regardless of filters. Choose a workstream to review its requests. N/A means no applicable requests.
| Workstream | Ready | Critical open | Unowned open |
|---|
Add your own diligence request
Data use: Your entries stay in this browser tab’s memory; there is no automatic storage or server submission of project data. Save project downloads a JSON file to your device; Load project reads a file you choose locally. JSON, CSV and printed files contain your entered data: you control their storage and sharing. Reloading loses unsaved work. After you change the plan, the page shows an unsaved indicator and asks before leaving when the browser supports it; save JSON rather than relying on that warning. This is not a secure data room—use file references rather than confidential documents or personal information.
How the number works. Each applicable item counts equally. In progress receives no completion credit. Not applicable is excluded from the denominator. If all items are Not applicable, readiness displays N/A. A high percentage can still coexist with a major unresolved issue.
Reading the result / Fictional example
30% ready does not mean 30% of the risk is resolved.
In the initial example, 6 of 20 requests are Ready, 8 critical items remain open and 9 open items have no owner. Finishing a straightforward noncritical request would lift completion to 35% while leaving all 8 critical issues unresolved.
If one genuinely irrelevant request is marked Not applicable instead, 6 of 19 applicable items are Ready: about 32%. No new evidence has been completed. Read the percentage together with the critical count, the owners and the actual missing support.
Use the next-action list to start the discussion with the critical financial tie-out. Assign a responsible owner and record what will resolve the difference before changing its status. The example is fictional; your scope and critical judgments should reflect your actual transaction.
02 / Put it to work
A useful checklist ends in evidence.
Close the gaps.
Assign an owner, record the missing evidence, and agree a next action. A file uploaded to a data room is only useful when it ties to the financial story.
Review the exceptions.
Discuss critical open items first. Export the register for the team, preserve a dated copy, and reconcile it to the actual diligence request list.
03 / The field guides
Understand what you’re preparing for.
Quality of earnings
versus an audit
Different questions, different deliverables. Understand how financial statement assurance and transaction analysis fit together.
Read the comparison →Build a diligence-ready
financial data room
A practical way to organize reconciliations, revenue schedules, proposed adjustments and balance sheet support.
Read the preparation guide →04 / Before you begin
Common questions.
Does 100% mean we are ready for a transaction?
No. It means every applicable item in this particular checklist is marked Ready. It says nothing about the adviser's findings, the accuracy of your evidence, the purchase agreement or issues outside the checklist.
Is this a quality of earnings report?
No. It is an organizational aid for management. A QoE engagement requires an agreed scope, professional analysis and review of the underlying records. This tool neither validates financial information nor gives assurance.
How should we use Not applicable?
Use it when an item genuinely does not apply to the business or agreed scope. Explain the reason in the notes. A missing schedule or unresolved question should remain open rather than be marked Not applicable.
Can I share or save the checklist?
Use Save project to download JSON, then Load project to resume in a later session. Export CSV creates a review copy; Print brief produces a summary with open items and owners. Nothing is saved automatically. All downloaded or printed files contain the information you entered, so store and share them through your approved systems.