An auditor's report on financial statements is essential to the confidence of users in the content of the financial statements. The report contributes to the perception of the bank, suppliers, customers, investors and other stakeholders of the credibility of the financial information.
Auditor's reports come in several different varieties and it's important to know the difference between the alternatives available, including the 4 key types of reports the auditor uses as a result of their work with clients' annual reports.
Companies covered by the Danish Financial Statements Act have different options to choose from alternative statement types. The choice depends on both the type and size of the company. In this article, the focus is on the type of statement known as the 'extended review'.
As the title of the article suggests, extended review will usually come into play when it comes to a company that is subject to the Annual Accounts Act's requirement to have its financial statements audited.
Extended review is possible for companies in accounting class B, but cannot be applied to e.g. commercial foundations. Therefore, it will primarily be limited liability companies that do not exceed the limits of reporting class B that will need to consider the audit alternative.
The size limits for accounting class B are:
If 2 of these 3 limits are exceeded for 2 consecutive financial years, the company "grows" into accounting class C and extended review will no longer be an option.
When presented with alternative choices, it's obviously necessary to know the key differences between the alternatives.
Audits conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) involve a significant amount of work on the part of the auditor. An in-depth understanding of the company and its business processes and internal control system must be obtained, and great demands are placed on the evidence that the auditor must obtain in order to provide the necessary assurance for his opinion on the financial statements. An audit will therefore provide a high level of assurance in expressing an opinion.
The extended review is generally based on inquiries of relevant persons in the company and analysis of the financial statements. For additional assurance, the review is extended with 4 mandatory procedures, which consist of the auditor:
If the auditor concludes that, in addition to inquiries, analyses and the four procedures mentioned above, further evidence is required, the auditor will, for example, obtain external confirmations or perform a sample review of the supporting documentation.
As a result of the reduced control effort by the auditor, the auditor expresses only limited assurance in the conclusion in the extended review report. The 4 additional procedures naturally provide additional assurance to the auditor's conclusion, and this additional assurance will also be discussed in the opinion.