How do I add a Cross-reference?

Key Functions

User Flow

Ability to add, review, and track cross-references

In the engagement process, each step and each row of the Trial Balance will feature icons on the right for Review Notes, Files, Cross-Reference, Tickmark, and a 'Plus/Add' icon.

Each icon displays a count of items under its category for that step/row; for example, the Cross-Reference icon shows how many cross-references are linked to that step and is hidden if there are none.
The user should be able to start the cross-referencing process within a workpaper or between workpapers and the Trial Balance by right clicking the desired area and selecting "Add cross reference" from a popup menu, or by clicking the 'Plus/Add' icon and selecting "Add Cross Reference" from the drop-down menu.
Once "Add cross reference" is clicked, a slide over panel titled "Add cross reference X" opens, with "X" being the next sequential number of cross-references created.
The system should generate and assign a cross-reference number, and two radio buttons, 'set destination' and 'set link location,' appear, with the latter inactive until the second step.

The original document name and initially selected content for cross-referencing (or "Trial Balance" and account description if from Trial Balance) are displayed on the panel.
An informative statement instructs users to specify a location in their document for the cross-reference, right-click, and select 'Add Cross-Reference’ to finalize the process.
A "Save" button keeps the cross-reference information from step 1 in memory, while a "Cancel" button exits the process without saving. If the user clicks cancel, a popup appears to confirm that they would like to cancel adding the cross reference. Clicking Yes will cancel adding the cross reference.
After saving, the user should navigate to the part of the engagement where they want to link the cross-reference, right-click or click the plus icon to add it, and a slideover with 'set link location' active appears.
In the slideover, users can select the destination for the cross-reference from a list of previously linked or new unlinked cross-references added in step 1. New unlinked cross references will have the appropriate icon to indicate that it is unlinked.

Selecting a destination completes the cross-reference, and the corresponding icon now appears next to each section involved in the cross-referencing. If the user cancels at this point, the first cross reference will be held in memory until a second cross reference is initiated.
Clicking the cross-reference icon opens a slide over with four tabs, the "cross ref" tab highlighted, showing a count of the cross-references for that step or account.
Below the tabs, instructions for creating a new Cross-Reference are given, along with a list of existing cross-references, each with a unique number, creator's name, role, date, and time, plus an "X" button to delete.
When a cross-reference is deleted, it's removed from both the origin and target.
Each listed cross-reference includes a "linked reference" button that takes users to the linked section in the engagement, highlighting the linked area.
Clicking on a cross-reference expands the section to show full details, displaying the target when clicked on the origin and the origin details when clicked on the target.

One-to-many, many-to-one and many-to-many cross-references

Cross references can be mapped in the following ways: one to many, many to one, and many to many.

One-to-many: this means that one source can have multiple links, e.g. Content from "knowledge of the entity" can be linked to content from both "Completion Checklist" and "Management Representations Letter".
Many-to-one: this means that multiple sources can have one link, e.g. Content from "knowledge of the entity" and "Completion Checklist" can be linked to "Management Representations Letter".
Many-to-many: this means that multiple sources can have multple links, e.g Content from "knowledge of the entity" and "Completion Checklist" can be linked to both "Management Representations Letter" and "Client Acceptance."

Users will have the ability to add, review, and track cross-references across workpapers and Trial Balance with a simple right-click and an intuitive interface.