Reporting the Nature, Extent and ResultsReporting the Nature, Extent and Results of the Review of a Financial Report

###### Reporting the Nature, Extent and Results of the Review of a Financial Report 1. The auditor shall issue a written report that contains the following: 1. An appropriate title clearly identifying it as a review report of the independent auditor of the entity. 2. An addressee, as required by the circumstances of the engagement. 2. The first section of the auditor’s review report shall include the auditor’s conclusion, and shall have the heading “Conclusion”. The Conclusion section of the auditor’s review report shall: 1. Identify the entity whose financial report has been reviewed; 2. State that the financial report has been reviewed; 3. Identify the title of each statement comprising the financial report; 4. Refer to the notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes[\[2\]](#_ftn2); 5. Specify the date or, or the period covered by, each statement comprising the financial report; and 6. Include a conclusion: 1. When expressing an unmodified conclusion on a half-year financial report prepared in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, the report shall include a conclusion as to whether the auditor has become aware of any matter that makes the auditor believe that the half-year financial report does not comply with the Corporations Act 2001, including giving a true and fair view of the financial position and its performance, and complying with Accounting Standard AASB 134 Interim Financial Reporting and the Corporations Regulation 2001[\[3\]](#_ftn3). 2. When expressing an unmodified conclusion on a financial report prepared in accordance with a fair presentation framework, the report shall include a conclusion as to whether anything has come to the auditor’s attention that causes the auditor to believe that the financial report does not present fairly, in all material respects, or if applicable is not true and fair, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework (including a reference to the jurisdiction or country of origin of the financial reporting framework when Australia is not the origin of the financial reporting framework used). 3. When expressing an unmodified conclusion on a financial report prepared in accordance with a compliance framework, the report shall include a conclusion as to whether anything has come to the auditor’s attention that causes the auditor to believe that the financial report has not been prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework (including a reference to the jurisdiction or country of origin of the financial reporting framework when Australia is not the origin of the financial reporting framework used). (Ref A43 and A44) 3. The report shall include a section directly following the Conclusion section, with the heading “Basis for Conclusion”, that: 1. States that the review of the financial report was conducted in accordance with Auditing Standard on Review Engagements ASRE 2410 Review of a Financial Report Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity; 2. Refers to the section of the auditor’s review report that describes the auditor’s responsibilities; and 3. Includes a statement that the auditor is independent of the entity in accordance with the relevant ethical requirements relating to the audit of the annual financial report, and has fulfilled the auditor’s other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. 1. The statement shall identify the relevant ethical requirements applicable within Australia; and 2. If the relevant ethical requirements require the auditor to publicly disclose when the auditor applied independence requirements specific to audits of financial reports of certain entities, the statement shall indicate that the auditor is independent of the entity in accordance with the independence requirements applicable to the audits of those entities. (Ref: Para. A45) 4. The auditor’s report shall include a section with a heading “Responsibilities of Management for the Financial Report”. The auditor’s review report shall use the term that is appropriate in the context of the legal framework in the particular jurisdiction and need not refer specifically to “management”. In some jurisdictions the appropriate reference may be to those charged with governance. This section of the report shall describe the responsibilities of management for the preparation of the financial report in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework, and for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of the financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. 5. When the financial report is prepared in accordance with a fair presentation framework, the description of responsibilities of management for the financial report in the auditor’s review report shall refer to “the preparation and fair presentation of this financial report” or “the preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view”, as appropriate in the circumstances. 6. The report shall include a section with a heading “Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Review of the Financial Report”. This section of the report shall: 1. State that the auditor is responsible for expressing a conclusion on the financial report based on the review; 2. State that a review consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures; and 3. State that a review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards and consequently does not enable the auditor to obtain assurance that the auditor would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit, and that accordingly no audit opinion is expressed; 7. The report shall include: 1. The date the auditor signs the auditor’s review report; 2. The location in the country or jurisdiction where the auditor practices; 3. The name of the engagement partner where required by law or regulation[\[4\]](#_ftn4); and 4. The auditor’s signature.