Annual general report of the controller and - Parliament of Tanzania

CHAPTER TWO
BASIS AND TREND OF AUDIT OPINION
2.0 Introduction
The Oxford English dictionary of accounting defines an
audit opinion as an opinion contained in an auditor’s
report. It expresses a view as to whether or not the
financial statements audited have been prepared
consistently using appropriate accounting policies in
accordance with relevant legislation, regulations, and
applicable accounting standards/principles.
According to International Standards on Auditing (ISA) “the
opinion should clearly indicate the financial reporting
framework used to prepare the financial statements and
state the auditor’s opinion as to whether the financial
statements give a true and fair view and where
appropriate, whether the financial statements comply with
statutory requirements”.
Audit opinion is issued by an independent external auditor
as a result of an audit or evaluation performed on an entity
or subdivision thereof (called an “auditee”). The audit
opinion is provided to a user as an assurance service in
order for the user to make decisions based on the results of
the audit. In ordinary language, the opinion is an
assurance on whether the financial information presented
by the auditee is materially correct and trustworthy for
making various decisions by users of the financial
statements.
It is important to note that audit opinion on the financial
statements is neither evaluations nor opinions as to the
financial health, performance, attractiveness, potential, or
any other similar determination used to evaluate entities in
order to make a decision. It is only an opinion on whether
the information presented is correct and free of material
misstatements, whereas all other determinations are left
for the user to decide.
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Office of the Controller and Auditor General PA&oBs 2007/08 9