Audit Reports

Nonissuer report (Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 134)

Title (independent) · Addressee · Opinion first · Basis for Opinion · (Going concern, key audit matters) · Management's responsibilities · Auditor's responsibilities · Other reporting · Signature, city and state, date.

Opinion grid

	Material	Pervasive
Misstatement	Qualified	Adverse
Scope limitation	Qualified	Disclaimer

Paragraphs (opinion unchanged)

• Emphasis-of-matter: matter in the statements — consistency change, restatement, special purpose framework.
• Other-matter: matter not in the statements — omitted required supplementary information, restricted use, predecessor's report.

Issuers (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB))

• Auditor tenure disclosed; critical audit matters (CAMs) required for most.
• Internal control over financial reporting: material weakness → adverse.

Other

Other information: separate section; opinion unaffected. Management scope limitation → qualify, disclaim, or withdraw.

Exam traps

• An unjustified change in accounting principle is a departure from the framework → qualified or adverse, not just an emphasis-of-matter paragraph.
• If management imposes a scope limitation at the outset that would lead to a disclaimer, the auditor should decline the engagement (unless required by law to accept).
• The report can't be dated before sufficient evidence is obtained — including management taking responsibility for the final statements.