Audit opinion
The management of a company is responsible for
preparing the financial statements. The auditor is
responsible for expressing an opinion indicating that
reasonable assurance has been obtained that the
financial statements as a whole are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and that
they are fairly presented in accordance with the
relevant accounting standards (e.g., International
Financial Reporting Standards).
There are clear frameworks from independent
auditing standard setters which provide rules and
guidelines for how an audit should be carried out and
the level of assurance obtained. It is the auditor’s
responsibility to plan and conduct the audit in such a
way that it meets the applicable auditing standards
and sufficient appropriate evidence is obtained to
support the audit opinion. However, what constitutes
sufficient appropriate evidence is ultimately a matter
of professional judgement. The auditor considers a
number of factors in determining whether financial
statements are free of material misstatement, and in
evaluating any misstatements identified. These
factors require professional judgement, where
auditors use their skill and experience to form a view
based upon the evidence gathered on the financial
statements taken as a whole.
The audit opinion is clearly stated as a separate
paragraph in the audit report. The auditor issues a
‘clean’ opinion when it concludes that the financial
statements are free from material misstatement.