Commentary Part 16: Audit Chapter 3: Functions of Auditors Sections 495 to 497: Auditor’s report
755.These sections restate, with modifications, the provisions of section 235 of the 1985 Act as to what the auditor should include in his report on the accounts.
756.Section 495 imposes the basic duty to produce an audit report and requires that it should set out the way the auditor has approached the audit. Subsection (3) requires the auditor in his report to state his opinion on three matters: (i) whether the accounts provide a true and fair view, (ii) whether they comply with the appropriate reporting framework, and (iii) whether the accounts comply with the requirements in Part 15 of the Act (and, where applicable, with article 4 of the IAS Regulation (Regulation (EC) 1606/2002 on the application of international accounting standards)). Subsection (4) requires the audit report to be either qualified or unqualified, though it is open to the auditor to draw attention to aspects of his audit without qualifying the report.
757.Sections 496 and 497 restate the law on what the auditor should include in relation to the directors’ report and the directors’ remuneration report.