Reports are essential
to audit
and assurance engagements because they communicate the auditor's findings.
Users of financial statements rely on the auditor's report to provide assurance on the company's financial statements.
As the vignette at the beginning of this chapter illustrates, the auditor is likely to be held responsible if an incorrect audit report is issued.
The audit report is the final step in the entire audit process. The reason for studying it now is to permit reference to different audit reports as evidence accumulation is studied throughout this text. These evidence concepts are more meaningful after you understand the form and content of the final product of the audit. We begin by describing the content of the standard auditor's report