This Auditing Standard deals with the auditor’s responsibility to form an opinion on the financial report. It also deals with the form and content of the auditor’s report issued as a result of an audit of a financial report.

ASA 701 deals with the auditor’s responsibility to communicate key audit matters in the auditor’s report. ASA 705 and ASA 706 deal with how the form and content of the auditor’s report are affected when the auditor expresses a modified opinion or includes an Emphasis of Matter paragraph or an Other Matter paragraph in the auditor’s report. Other Auditing Standards also contain reporting requirements that are applicable when issuing an auditor’s report.

This Auditing Standard applies to an audit of a general purpose financial report and is written in that context. ASA 800 deals with special considerations when a financial report is prepared in accordance with a special purpose framework. ASA 805 deals with special considerations relevant to an audit of a single financial statement or of a specific element, account or item of a financial statement. This Auditing Standard also applies to audits for which ASA 800 or ASA 805 apply.

The requirements of this Auditing Standard are aimed at addressing an appropriate balance between the need for consistency and comparability in auditor reporting globally and the need to increase the value of auditor reporting by making the information provided in the auditor’s report more relevant to users. This Auditing Standard promotes consistency in the auditor’s report, but recognises the need for flexibility to accommodate particular circumstances of individual jurisdictions. Consistency in the auditor’s report, when the audit has been conducted in accordance with Auditing Standards, promotes credibility in the global marketplace by making more readily identifiable those audits that have been conducted in accordance with globally recognised standards. It also helps to promote the user’s understanding and to identify unusual circumstances when they occur.

[Deleted by the AUASB. Refer Aus 0.3]