How does the information in the preceding paragraphs compare to the information in the Basis for Opinion and Auditor’s Responsibility sections in the standard unmodified opinion audit report example for a nonpublic company shown in Figure 3-1 (p. 49)?

The IAASB recently revised its standards related to audit reporting. ISA 700 (Revised), Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements, requires the auditor’s report to include the following paragraphs under the headings “Basis for Opinion” and “Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements”:

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with ISAs. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report. We are independent of the Company in accordance with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (IESBA Code) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in [the home country] and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the IESBA Code. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

Our Objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Read the preceding paragraphs to answer the following:

Required

How does the information in the preceding paragraphs compare to the information in the Basis for Opinion and Auditor’s Responsibility sections in the standard unmodified opinion audit report example for a nonpublic company shown in
Figure
3-1 (p. 49)?

How does the information in the preceding paragraphs compare to the information in the Basis for Opinion section in the standard unmodified opinion audit report example for a public company shown in
Figure
3-3 (p. 54)?

Discuss which of the three audit reports, in your opinion, provides greater auditor communications to users of the financial statements.