Professional Documents
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Audit Reports
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Definition of Financial Audit Reports
What Is an External Business Audit?
In an audit engagement, the auditor gives his opinion on the financial information
disclosed by your business. The auditor’s report is an integral element of your
business’s audited financial statement. At the culmination of the audit engagement,
the auditor expresses his opinion in the auditor’s report, which can be qualified or
unqualified.
In the second section, the auditor explains its own responsibilities, duties and rights
regarding the engagement. Here, the auditor emphasizes the nature of the audit and
states that the auditor only examines internal controls and accounting records on a
sample basis. In the third section, the auditor gives his opinion on the financial
statements.
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An Unqualified Report
In an unqualified report, the auditors conclude that the financial statements of your
business present fairly its affairs in all material aspects. The opinion embodies the
assumptions that your business observed compliance with generally accepted
accounting principles and statutory requirements. Also known as a clean report, such
a report implies that any changes in the accounting policies, their application and
effects, are adequately determined and divulged.
This opinion does not tell that your business is in good economic health. It merely
states that your financial report is transparent and thorough and has not hidden
important facts.
A Qualified Report
A qualified report is one in which the auditor concludes that most matters have been
dealt with adequately, except for a few issues. An auditor’s report is qualified when
there is either a limitation of scope in the auditor’s work, or when there is a
disagreement with management regarding application, acceptability or adequacy of
accounting policies. For auditors an issue must be material or financially worth
consideration to qualify a report. The issue should not be pervasive, that is, the issue
should not misrepresent the factual financial position.
If issues are material and pervasive, the auditor issues a disclaimer or adverse
opinion. A qualified audit report does not mean that your business is suffering, and it
doesn't mean that your financial statement isn't transparent. It merely reflects the
auditor’s inability to give a clean report.
Notice that there are “exceptions” in the opinion paragraph of the qualified report.
For example, if your business was issued a qualified audit report on inventory matters,
your bank is more likely to demand further details about your inventory before issuing
credit to you.
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