| 70. | SIRs 1000.17, 1000.18, 1000.19 and 1000.20 set out the basic principles and essential procedures with respect to reporting. Appendices 2 and 3 set out illustrative examples of accountant's reports on historical financial information. |
| 71. | The reporting accountant's opinion is usually expressed in terms of whether, for the purpose of the relevant investment circular, the financial information gives a true and fair view of the state of affairs and profits, cash flows and statement of changes in equity. |
| 72. | When there is a limitation on the scope of the reporting accountant's work, the reporting accountant considers whether the limitation results in a lack of sufficient appropriate evidence necessary to form an opinion. When the possible effect is, in the opinion of the reporting accountant, material to the financial information, there will be insufficient evidence to support an unqualified opinion. The nature of the work of reporting accountants is such that in the absence of reliable contemporary evidence relating to significant accounts and balances it may not be possible to form an opinion on the financial information. This might be the case where there has been no audit of the underlying financial information in the past or where the auditor has given a qualified opinion because of a limitation in the scope of work. |
| 73. | As a consequence of the purpose for which financial information is presented and the importance which may be attached to it by readers of the document, a reporting accountant does not normally agree to be associated with financial information where a disclaimer of opinion needs to be given on the information for the entire period. |
| 74. | The reporting accountant needs to be satisfied that the financial information adequately describes both the applicable financial reporting framework used in the preparation of the financial information and any of the accounting conventions from the Annexure that have been used. Usually these are referred to within the financial information in a basis of preparation note. |
| 75. | Where the financial information has been prepared fully in accordance with a recognised financial reporting framework such as ''International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union'' the accountant's opinion is expressed in terms of the financial information giving a true and fair view in accordance with that framework (see Appendix 2 for an illustration). |
| 76. | Where the financial information has not been prepared fully in accordance with a recognised financial reporting framework but, for example, in accordance with a financial reporting framework modified by applying a convention described in the Annexure to this SIR, the accountant's opinion is expressed in terms of the financial information being prepared in accordance with the basis of preparation described in note x to the financial information, rather than in accordance with the financial reporting framework. The basis of preparation note states which accounting convention has been applied and how it departs from the requirements of the recognised financial reporting framework. A statement is made in the note that in all other respects the recognised financial reporting framework has been applied (see Appendix 3 for an illustration of the accountant's report). |
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