Auditor's report

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The auditor's report is the overall assessment of an auditor for the audit of financial statements . In it, the auditor assesses the compliance of the annual financial statements and the management report with the accounting regulations applicable to the company. It is only assessed whether the company's situation has been correctly mapped. The economic situation is generally not assessed. The auditor's report may only be issued after the substantive examination has been completed.

There is also an auditor's report from a sworn translator, with which he confirms the correctness and completeness of the translation.

In Germany

The legal requirements for the auditor's report can be found in Section 322 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) .

construction

The auditor's report consists of the heading, the introductory section, the descriptive section, the auditor's assessment, the auditor's signature and seal. If necessary, there is an indication of the assessment of the examination result and an indication of a threat to the company's existence.

  • Heading ; In the case of a positive statement about the audit, the auditor's report is mentioned; in the case of a negative statement, the word auditor's report must not be used. If it is a statutory audit, no addressee is named in the note.
  • Introductory section ; The subject of the audit, including the name of the audited company and the audited year, and the underlying accounting regulations are named here.
  • Descriptive section ; here are mentioned:
    • Type and scope of the test
    • whether it is a voluntary or compulsory test
    • underlying auditing standards (e.g. those of the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer )
    • Reference to the audit of the internal control system (ICS)
    • Assessment of the applied accounting principles
    • possibly additional information regarding legal regulations that must be recorded
    • Declaration that the examination provided a sufficient basis for the judgment given
  • Assessment by the auditor ;
    • a judgment must be given as to whether all applicable regulations have been complied with
    • the judgment must be expressed clearly and understandably
    • there are four forms of review score;
      • unqualified audit opinion
      • limited audit opinion
      • Notification of refusal due to objections
      • Refusal notice due to obstacles to the examination
      • in special cases, an examination opinion can be revoked retrospectively . Then the registry court , supervisory bodies and other persons who are aware of the auditor's report must be informed immediately.

Unqualified auditor's report

An unqualified auditor's report means that there were no significant objections to the bookkeeping , the annual financial statements and the management report . There must also be no obstacles to the examination. According to the auditor's assessment, the annual financial statements and management report therefore give a true and fair view of the asset, financial and earnings position . Small complaints, which are not essential in their totality, are not an obstacle to the issuance of the note. The auditor is allowed to make references to special circumstances of the company without restricting the note.

Limited auditor's report

A restriction must be made if the financial statements do not give a true and fair view of the asset, financial and earnings position. The word "restriction" must be used and it must be clearly stated why the comment was restricted. A restriction is made if there were significant complaints about parts of the accounting. The note is also issued if obstacles to the examination prevent a sufficiently reliable assessment. The materiality of an obstacle depends on the ratio of the objected size to other sizes. Several deficiencies, which are insignificant per se, can become material in their totality and thus lead to a limitation of the note. Violations of laws , statutes , social contract o. Ä. Also lead to a refusal , unless they are accounting-relevant. Deficiencies in the bookkeeping itself can also lead to a restriction. It is also possible that violations of provisions in the previous year lead to a restriction if they still have a significant impact on the period under review. If there are obstacles to the audit such as the refusal to provide information, the auditor’s report is no longer unqualified. If the deficiency was corrected during the examination, the examination note should be made without restriction.

Notification of refusal due to objections

A notice of refusal due to objections must be issued if the annual financial statements as a whole or very significant parts of the annual financial statements no longer justify the issuing of a restriction. The reasons for the refusal must be presented. The word auditor's report may not be used.

Refusal notice due to obstacles to the examination

A disclaimer of opinion is issued if the auditor is unable to issue an audit opinion. Examples of audit obstacles are the refusal of submission and the obligation to provide information, the auditor's failure to take part in the inventory and the destruction of documents due to force majeure. The auditor must do all appropriate, i.e. H. have exhausted legally permissible and economically justifiable possibilities to clarify the matter. In addition, the obstacle to the audit must be so significant that it is no longer possible to restrict the auditor's report. In contrast to the refusal notice due to objections, the refusal notice due to audit obstacles does not contain a negative audit opinion.

See also

literature

  • Reinhard Goerdeler : On the informative value of the auditor's report . In: Journal UEC (1967), pp. 107-109.