MEMORANDUM

DATE: September 12, 2018

TO: Lisa Ramirez, Boss

FROM: Kevanna Sebastian, Student --KS

SUBJECT: Rhetorical Analysis of the Belize Water Service Limited

For the technical writing rhetorical analysis assignment, I have reviewed the Independent
Auditor’s Report for the Belize Water Service Limited, written by Castillo Sanchez & Burrell,
LLP. The purpose of this report is to provide an impartial opinion to the shareholders and owners
of the company about the truth and fairness of the financial statements.

Auditor’s Responsibility
It is the job of the auditor to express honest opinions based on the financial documents of a
company. Also they They must follow also follow the rules and regulations of international
standards of auditing. The auditor’s job is to review all financial documents to spot errors and Commented [LMR1]: Such as?
find how the money is spent from each transaction. This also helps to prevent fraud or theft in Commented [LMR2]: Explain better. Track financial
the company. spending?

Audience
This document is addressed to the primary audience, the director and shareholders of the Belize
Water Service Limited. I know this because the documents states that at the beginning of the
report and also it is the nature of a financial report to be addressed to those individuals have
shares in the company. Commented [LMR3]: This much too short. Comment on
audience and cite evidence in the document that defends
your analysis. What kinds of specifications show this?
Word Choice/ Tone/ Voice
This report is direct and professional?. The auditor uses words that can have subtle or drastic
connotation of words. For example, the following two sentences carry different connotations. Commented [LMR4]: You mean highly connotative?
The first sentence is referenced from the audit report on page 8. Weighty?

 “the amendment to reduce the circumstances in which the recoverable amount of assets”
the amendment to cut down the circumstances in which the recoverable amount of assets

Although the sentences communicate the same information, the connotation behind reduce and
cut down are very different. Being direct and precise, the auditor reduces the length of sentence
and yet gets across the message. The report does not contain fighting? words like failure, stole, Commented [LMR5]: So neutral language? Why?
and ignorance as the readers might get emotionally defensive. The auditor was accurate with the
word choice and did not use broad and confusing words to make tone unprofessional or childish. Commented [LMR6]: Vague. These ideas only skirt the
focus. An analysis breaks down the document. You are only
providing mere snippets here and there.
Exigence
In large firms with different shareholders or stakeholders it is important to have an external
auditor to review all transactions of a company. This provides accountability, reliability,
assurance, feedback, boot credit ratings and value, and a complete report for a period of time. It
the most effective way to keep the audiences of the company up to date with the company. This Commented [LMR7]: redundant
is stated in the report on page 1. Commented [LMR8]: examples from the report?

Ethos/Logos/Pathos
The independence of a company’s external auditor is crucial for guaranteeing credibility of its
financial statements. The rule and regulations of auditor’s requires them to follow ethical
standards. Their reputation for being frank makes their opinions highly respected. The auditor
uses logic as a means of reasoning to solve the financial problems of the company. Commented [LMR9]: Give examples of each not a
definition or base definition of function
Eight Measures
This audit report is honest as the financial statements matches the report. It is clear as the auditor
uses technical writing to convey feedback. The language is at a professional level but also easy
to understand. The independent auditor is someone who is not affiliated with the business so they
have no reason to be bias. They must breakdown all the financials, so that forces them to remain
objective, accurate, and comprehensive. The report has a detailed table of contents that makes it
easy for the audience to locate the relevant information, this makes is accessible. The document
has no error and it is very professionally written. Commented [LMR10]: What does this mean? And this is
a focus on conventions?
Formatting and structure Commented [LMR11]: Break down the measures.
The auditor’s report uses a limited amount of fonts. It maintains one type of font for the body, all
the same size with the heading bolded and some underlined to state importance. The only design
this report has is the logo for the audit company. The report is written in the opinion of the
auditor regarding the entities of the financial statements. The report is written in standard format
as mandated by generally accepted auditing standards. The opinions must be clean, qualified, and
adverse. Commented [LMR12]: Explain.

Final Thoughts
The auditor’s report composed by Castillo Sanchez & Burrell, LLP has many components of
rhetorical writing. The accuracy and preciseness of this document reflects positively on the
company as they hire individuals who are highly trained and professional. Though the document
was comprised of high level writing, it was easy to follow and understand.