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The P&L analytical review template builds a period-on-period (or quarter-on-quarter / month-on-month) breakdown of the profit and loss account, with automatic variance £ and % columns and a comment box against every line, so the person preparing or reviewing the accounts can explain movements before the accounts are finalised. You can set a variance threshold so that significant movements are flagged automatically, and a progress banner shows how many flagged items have been explained. It is a review working paper rather than a note or disclosure — nothing it calculates is carried into the primary statements or the notes. It pairs with the Balance Sheet analytical review template, which does the same job for the balance sheet.

Table of contents 

When should I use this template?

Use it on any UK engagement where you want a structured, evidenced review of profit and loss movements year-on-year (or period-on-period) rather than a one-off look at the trial balance. It works as a completion-stage review (comparing the final P&L to the prior year) and, where the client has a monthly or quarterly trial balance, as a rolling management-accounts review during the year.

Before you start

  • The template reads directly from the trial balance using Silverfin's standard UK account mapping, so the trial balance needs to be mapped — there is nothing to map inside this template.
  • Decide whether you want a yearly, quarterly or monthly comparison (Step 1) — the choices available depend on the file type set up. For example, you can only use a monthly comparison if you have a monthly file.

Background: why this working paper exists

This template doesn't produce a note or a disclosure. It gives preparers and reviewers a structured place to compare current-period figures with the prior period, investigate significant differences and record an explanation for each one. That is a routine part of understanding the business and catching misstatements, unusual transactions or going-concern indicators before the accounts are finalised — the template is the evidence that the review took place.

Step 1: Complete the settings panel

The grey SETTINGS panel sits at the top of the template. Untick the box next to SETTINGS to collapse it once you've finished; it opens again automatically in each new period.

Comparison — a dropdown whose options depend on how often the company's trial balance is produced:

  • Monthly trial balance (12 periods a year): Yearly, Quarterly or Monthly
  • Quarterly trial balance (4 periods a year): Yearly or Quarterly
  • Annual trial balance (1 period a year): Yearly only

The default is Yearly.

  • If you choose Yearly, a Format dropdown appears — YTD or PTD (default YTD). YTD shows the cumulative balance from the start of the financial year. PTD (period to date) nets off the previous period's cumulative balance, so the column shows only the most recent period's movement — useful when reviewing an interim close part-way through the year.
  • If you choose Monthly, a Months to compare dropdown appears — 1 to 11 (default 1) — controlling how many preceding months are shown alongside the current month.
  • If you choose Quarterly, the template works out which quarter you're in from the period dates and shows each quarter's movement for the year so far. In the first quarter, it compares against the last quarter of the previous financial year.

Rounding of accounts — "in ones", "in thousands" or "in millions" (default "in ones"). This scales every figure and updates the currency heading on each column (£, £'000 or £'m).

Show original accounts — a tick box (unticked by default). Leave it unticked to see Silverfin's standard mapped account numbers and names in the account-level breakdown; tick it to see the client's original trial balance account numbers and names instead. If you previously set the old Yes/No dropdown to Yes, the tick box is ticked for you.

Highlight variance — two optional thresholds that switch on variance flagging (see Step 3):

  • Flag items with a variance ≥ [%] — the percentage movement that triggers a flag. Flagging is off while this is blank.
  • Only flag variances ≥ [£] — optional. If entered, a line is only flagged if its £ movement is also at least this amount, so small variances with large percentage swings aren't flagged. Enter the amount in the same units as your rounding — for example, with rounding "in thousands", enter 20 for £20,000.

Step 2: Review the table

The table has three levels, each with its own tick box:

  • Header rows (for example Revenue, Administrative expenses, Interest payable and similar expenses). Headers that have categories underneath are ticked by default, so their categories show straight away — untick to collapse them. Headers with nothing underneath (for example Exceptional items or Income from shares in group undertakings) are unticked by default — tick them to list the individual accounts.
  • Category rows underneath each header. Tick a category to list the individual trial balance accounts in it. Each category name is an editable field, so you can overtype it if the standard wording doesn't suit the client.
  • Account rows — the individual accounts in a ticked category, each linking through to the account.

A line at any level only appears if it has a value in at least one of the columns shown — empty lines don't clutter the table.

Subtotal rows (for example Gross profit, Operating profit, Profit before tax and Profit after tax, or the equivalents for your layout) are calculated automatically and always shown. Where the layout has one, a Gross margin % row shows gross profit as a percentage of revenue, with the change in percentage points.

Every row — header, category, account, subtotal and gross margin — has its own comment box (placeholder "Description") for your explanation of the balance or movement. This is where the review evidence goes.

Once a comparative period exists, the template adds a Variance column (£), a % column and a Flagged column. Variances are shown with a + or − sign and coloured green where the movement increases profit and red where it reduces profit. If no comparative period exists yet (for example the company's first year in Silverfin), only the current-period column is shown.

Step 3: Work through the flagged items

If you've entered a percentage threshold in Step 1, each line is checked against it:

  • A line is flagged if its % variance is at or above the threshold (and, if you entered one, its £ variance is at or above the £ threshold).
  • A line with a balance this period but nothing in the comparative period is flagged as a new balance (subject to the £ threshold, if set).
  • Flagged lines show a caution icon in the Flagged column — hover over it to see why. Lines that aren't flagged show a dash.

Flags apply at the level you're reviewing:

  • Header rows are only flagged when they're collapsed or have nothing underneath. When a header is expanded, its categories carry the flag instead.
  • Category rows and subtotal rows are flagged whenever they breach the threshold.
  • Account rows show the icon for information, but don't need a comment and aren't counted.
  • The Gross margin % row is never flagged.

A comment is required on every flagged header, category and subtotal row — the comment box is marked as required until you fill it in.

A banner above the table summarises progress, for example "4 items flagged with a variance ≥ 20% and ≥ £5,000 | 3/4 commented". It is orange while any flagged item still needs a comment, and blue once they're all explained. Tick Show only these items on the banner to hide everything except the flagged rows while you work through them; untick it to see the full table again. This tick box is only available while editing.

Checking the reconciliation warning

If the profit or loss calculated by the template for the current period doesn't agree with the profit or loss in the trial balance, a warning appears below the table showing both figures and asking you to contact support@silverfin.com.

What flows through to the rest of the accounts/workflow?

Nothing. This is a standalone review working paper — no other template reads its figures and it doesn't populate any note, disclosure or iXBRL tag. Its value is the evidenced review itself: the lines you expanded, the flags and the comments recorded against them.

What rolls forward next year?

  • Rolled forward: the Comparison, Format, Months to compare, Rounding, Show original accounts and Highlight variance settings; every header and category tick box; and any category names you've overtyped.
  • Cleared: all comments, so each period starts with blank comment boxes for the new review.
  • The SETTINGS panel opens again in each new period.

Where the data comes from

Figures come straight from the trial balance for the current period and, depending on the comparison chosen, the equivalent prior period(s) — prior year, prior month(s) or prior quarter(s). Accounts are grouped using Silverfin's standard UK account mapping. The entity type, legal form, industry and farm enterprise names are read from the General settings template — they aren't set here.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I only see one column of figures with no variance?

There's no comparative period yet for the comparison you've chosen — for example, it's the company's first year in Silverfin, or the first month of a monthly comparison. The comparative, variance and Flagged columns appear once a prior period exists.

Why has the layout of the template changed?

From periods ending on 1 September 2026, the template follows the same structure and wording as the statutory profit and loss account for your entity type. Earlier periods with comments keep the old layout unless you tick the "new format" banner.

I switched to the new format — where have my comments gone?

Comments entered under the old layout are kept separately. Untick the box on the "new format" banner to switch back and see them.

Why is nothing flagged?

Flagging only runs once you've entered a percentage in Flag items with a variance ≥ in the settings panel, and only when a comparative period exists. If you've also entered a £ amount, check it's in the same units as your rounding.

Why isn't an expanded header flagged when its total moved a lot?

When a header is expanded, the flag moves down to its categories so you explain the movement at the more detailed level. Collapse the header to flag and comment on it as a whole.

Why can't I see the Show only these items tick box?

It only appears in the banner while editing, and only when at least one item is flagged (or the box is already ticked).

What's the difference between YTD and PTD when comparing yearly?

YTD shows the cumulative year-to-date balance. PTD nets off the previous period's cumulative balance so you see only the latest period's movement.

Does anything I enter here appear in the accounts or notes?

No. This is a review working paper only.

How do I review the balance sheet in the same way?

Use the Balance Sheet analytical review template, which has the same settings, variance flagging and progress banner for the balance sheet.

Set your rounding before you enter a £ threshold. The £ figure you type is read in the same units as your rounding, so with rounding set to "in thousands" you enter 20 to flag movements of £20,000 or more.