Building an evidence index before the funder’s auditors arrive
Auditors work from their request list. Your folder structure should mirror that list, not your internal drive habits.
When a funder announces an audit, teams often scramble to gather “everything finance.” The result is a shared drive full of folders named by year or by staff member. Auditors then spend the first day asking for the same documents again, mapped to their numbering.
A simpler structure
Create one folder per item on the funder’s request list. If item 7 is “sample of personnel costs for Q2,” that folder holds the ledger extract, timesheets, and payroll proofs for the sampled staff — nothing else. An evidence index spreadsheet lists each request number, the folder name, and a contact for questions.
Known exceptions deserve their own brief
If you already know a hospitality claim or a late budget revision will draw attention, write a one-page note with the facts, the agreement clause, and any funder correspondence already on file. Handing that note over early is clearer than hoping the sample misses the line.
Funder audit preparation at Dataapiconnect is essentially this work done with an outside pair of eyes — especially useful when paper files still live in a Central storeroom and digital copies are incomplete.