For the last few weeks, I have been wondering how to write about the most boring book in the world without being boring myself! It is complicated but here is my first try. The authors are into arms and thumbs. Take this short sentence from page 95: “Accordingly, a rule of thumb cannot be used…
You probably don’t know and don’t care, but accountants have spent time, energy and even empirical research discussing the difference in ‘presents fairly’ and ‘true and fair’ in their audit reports. Research has shown, for instance, that most people prefer true and fair to presents fairly. Now I’m not sure how necessary that was. Any…
UK audit opinions proclaim that financial statements give a ‘true and fair’ view, whereas in the USA they ‘presents fairly’ the financial statements. What is the difference between these two opinions? Are for instance financial statements in the UK more accurate than those in the USA because they are not only fair but true? Using…
In the opinion of auditors the world over, financial statements are declared to be true and fair or they give a true and fair view of the company’s affairs. True and fair has become such a common expression in accounting that no-one thinks about it anymore. They have become a natural expression similar to ‘fair…
Auditors in the USA qualify their auditors’ reports with ‘in all material respects,’ but not in the UK. Why is there a difference? Is it important? Perhaps it is just a convention. Or just another auditor’s trick. Yet these same auditors in the same audit firm apply ‘in all material respects’ in their audit reports…
Have you noticed that unqualified audit reports of quoted companies in the UK are not exactly the same? This is yet another of the silly things auditors do. The immense majority of audit reports make the following statement: “In our opinion the Financial Statements give a true and fair view of the state of the…