Audit Report Format

On completion of an audit, the Auditor's duty is to express an opinion on the financial position of the company. The opinion is presented in the form of an audit report. Using the evidence obtained during the audit, the auditor prepares an audit report. The audit report expresses an opinion on the financial statements of the company. The audit report should conform to the Audit Report format established by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. The present article discusses the constituents of an audit report.

Title

The audit report must have a title which expresses the type of report being issued. The title should indicate that the audit report has been issued by an auditor having independent access to the books of accounts.

Addressee

The auditor's report must be appropriately addressed depending on the nature of the engagement. In case a statutory audit is performed, the report will be addressed to the shareholders of the company.

Introductory Paragraph

In the introductory paragraph, the Auditor should state the following:

Name and details of the entity whose financial statements are subject to audit;
Refer to the summary of all the relevant accounting policies and other explanatory information;
State the fact that the financial statements have been audited as per the applicable reporting framework;
Identification of the title of each statement that comprises the financial statements;
Specify the date or period covered by every separate financial statement available in the financial statements.

Management's Responsibility

All audit reports must have a section termed "Management's Responsibility for the Financial Statements". The section shall describe the responsibilities of those in the organisation who undertake the preparation of the financial statements. The management's responsibility should include an explanation that management is responsible for the preparation of the financial statement and implementation of internal controls to ensure the preparation of financial statements are free from material misstatements.

Auditor's Responsibility

All audit reports must have a section termed "Auditor's Responsibility". The section states that the responsibility of the auditor is to express an opinion on the financial statements based on the audit. The auditor's report should also state that the audit was conducted in accordance with Standards on Auditing. The standards applicable shall be those issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. In addition, the audit report must also explain that the auditing standards require the auditor to comply with ethical requirements. Also, it shall be mentioned that the auditor planned and performed the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement. Finally, the auditor's report should state whether the auditor believes that the audit evidence the auditor has obtained during the course of the audit is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for the auditor's opinion.

Auditors Opinion

All audit report must have a section with the heading "Opinion" that provides the opinion of the Auditor on the financial statements of the organisation. In the case of unqualified opinion, auditors typically use terms such as 'The financial statements present the financial opinion of the reportee entity fairly and in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework'. Know more about the types of audit opinions.

Other Responsibilities

The Auditor may address other reporting responsibilities in the Auditors report. In such cases, these responsibilities must be addressed in a separate section in the Auditors report that is titled "Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements".

Signature, Date & Place

All audit reports must be signed by the auditor. The audit report must be dated not earlier than the date on which the auditor obtained sufficient audit evidence to base the auditor's opinion. The place of signature is the city where the audit report is signed by the auditor.

To know about the types of the audit opinion, click here.