Audit Opinion Law and Legal Definition
Audit opinion refers to a certified public accountant's opinion regarding the audited financial statements of an entity. It is a written attestation as to the fairness of presentation of financial statements. Generally, there are four types of audit opinions: unqualified, qualified, disclaimer and adverse opinion.
Unqualified opinion is a clean opinion meaning that the financial statements appear to be presented fairly. Qualified opinion means that the information provided was limited in scope and/or the company being audited has not maintained generally accepted accounting principles. Disclaimer opinion is the auditor's statement disclaiming any opinion regarding the company's financial condition due to an inability to gather certain relevant facts. Adverse opinion is one which states that the financial statements do not fairly present the financial position of the company or that it is not in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices of the United States.
