Home  Journals  International Accounting  47(341) - 2014 December

The definition of auditor's opinion: history, implication, problems

Available online: 4 March 2015

Subject Heading: AUDITING

JEL Classification: 

Pages: 42-49

Importance In the article, the author attempts to make a scientific analysis of the auditor's opinion category, which is a subjective one and, in fact, is not subject to statutory regulation, but which is the most important in the economic and legal environment. The limitations of such information in the auditing theory create a serious problem, since the practice of choosing a particular form of auditor's report still identifies outstanding issues and controversies about correct expression of auditor's opinion.
     Objectives The purpose of the paper is to study the concept of auditor's opinion in historical and theoretical aspects and to identify areas of concern in terms of its formation in conditions of imperfect current legislation to increase the objectivity of assessment of financial statements reliability.
     Methods The study bases on scientific methods of comparison, analysis and synthesis using critical evaluation, historical and logical approaches implemented with the help of the dialectical method of cognition.
     Results Based on the examined works of Russian and foreign scientists, the author presents an original vision of emergence and development of the auditor's opinion concept. Within the study of the genesis of legislative approaches to the final document of an audit, the author revealed advantages and disadvantages of regulatory aspects in terms of determining the principles of formation and realization of auditor's opinion. The paper summarizes scientific views on the essence of the audit category, reviews discussions, and formulates the author's standpoint on a number of controversial issues. The author offers a unique approach to the essence of the auditor's opinion definition in the context of the conducted research.
     Conclusions and Relevance The conclusion is that despite the variety of scientific approaches to the explanation of the term of auditor's opinion, the issue of auditor's opinion formulation during audit report preparation still remains open. The technology of substantiating the auditor's opinion requires further study and clarification. The author's research may serve as a basis for developing the theoretical principles and methodological tools of an auditor when formulating auditor's opinion on reliability of financial statements.

Keywords: auditor's opinion, audit report, auditor, accounting, financial reports, auditor's judgment, Russian auditing standards, international auditing standards

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