For the purposes of this Guidance Statement, the following items have the meanings attributed below:

Auditor ― A registered company auditor^[6].

AUASB Standards ― Australian Auditing Standards and Standards on Assurance Engagements, Standards on Review Engagements and Standards on Related Services.

Assurance Engagement ― An engagement in which an auditor aims to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence in order to express a conclusion designed to enhance the degree of confidence of the intended users other than the responsible party about the subject matter information (that is, the outcome of the measurement or evaluation of an underlying subject matter against criteria).

1. Reasonable assurance engagement ― An assurance engagement in which the auditor reduces engagement risk to an acceptably low level in the circumstances of the engagement as the basis for the auditor’s conclusion. The auditor’s conclusion is expressed in a form that conveys the auditor’s opinion on the outcome of the measurement or evaluation of the underlying subject matter against criteria.
2. Limited assurance engagement ― An assurance engagement in which the auditor reduces engagement risk to a level that is acceptable in the circumstances of the engagement but where that risk is greater than for a reasonable assurance engagement as the basis for expressing a conclusion in a form that conveys whether, based on the procedures performed and evidence obtained, a matter(s) has come to the auditor’s attention to cause the auditor to believe the subject matter information is materially misstated. The nature, timing, and extent of procedures performed in a limited assurance engagement is limited compared with that necessary in a reasonable assurance engagement but is planned to obtain a level of assurance that is, in the auditor’s professional judgment, meaningful. To be meaningful, the level of assurance obtained by the auditor is likely to enhance the intended users’ confidence about the subject matter information to a degree that is clearly more than inconsequential.