The first three elements of compliance, as outlined in the previous three
sections, provide an auditor the opportunity to express the opinion reached
on budget compliance, on compliance with laws and regulations relating to
specific policy areas and programs, and on compliance with accounting and
reporting demands based on formal legislation or accounting standards. A
practical problem arises with respect to the lack of congruence among these
three compliance requirements, because compliance with laws and regulations
regarding financial reporting or accounting standards and compliance with
budget laws both concern the financial accounts, while compliance with laws
and regulations regarding the content of policy areas and programs concerns
the individual transactions reported in the financial accounts. The consequences
thereof will be dealt with in the final section of this chapter, on the
auditor’s reporting