20 Material/materiality
Materiality is a concept used by both preparers and auditors of financial statements to
help determine what information is important, what information should be disclosed in
the financial statements, and to evaluate misstatements.
Information is material if its omission or misstatement could influence the economic
decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements. Materiality depends on
the size and nature of the item or error judged in the particular circumstances of its
omission or misstatement.
When determining whether a matter is material, the auditor also evaluates qualitative
considerations, such as the impact of misstatements on debt covenants, key ratios, etc.
21 Misstated/misstatement
A misstatement is a difference—arising from an error or fraud—between the amount,
classification, presentation or disclosure of an item in the financial statements, and the
amount, classification, presentation or disclosure that is required for that item to be in
accordance with the applicable financial reporting standards.
22 Modified/modifications
An audit opinion is modified when the auditor concludes that the financial statements
are materially misstated, or the auditor has been unable to obtain sufficient appropriate
audit evidence to reach a conclusion. A modified opinion could be:
A qualified opinion—the auditor concludes that, except for specific matters explained
in the audit report, the financial statements give a true and fair view;
An adverse opinion—the auditor concludes that the financial statements do not give
a true and fair view;
A disclaimer of opinion—the auditor concludes that the extent of their inability to
obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence is such that it is not possible to form an
opinion on the financial statements.
The audit report can also be modified through an emphasis of matter paragraph without
altering the audit opinion (see the emphasis of matter definition above