Accountant Responsibility
The ethical responsibility that an accountant has to those who rely on his/her work. An accountant has a responsibility to the company’s management, investors, creditors, outside regulatory bodies, and the integrity of the financial markets.
Accountants are responsible for the validity of the financial statements they work on, and must perform their duties in accordance with all applicable principles, standards and laws.
The accountant's responsibility outlines who the accountant is working for. Even though an independent accountant may be hired by a company’s management, the responsibility of an accountant is owed to many others as well. The duty to uphold principles, standards and laws of accounting is owed to the companies, stockholders and creditors they account for.
An accountant who does not uphold his responsibilities can have broad effects on the accounting industry and the financial markets by weakening general perception of all involved.
Accountant's Opinion
A statement signed by an independent accountant outlining his or her opinion regarding the quality of information contained in a company's financial reports and records.
An accountant's opinion statement can either be qualified or unqualified. When the opinion is qualified, the accountant is questioning the accounting principles and/or scope of the information provided. An unqualified opinion is given when the accountant sees that the given information in the financial statements is sound. In other words, an unqualified opinion is desirable whereas a qualified opinion is not.
The subject of accountant independence became an important issue in the wake of the demise of such corporate giants as Enron and WorldCom in the early 2000's. Because Enron and WorldCom were large companies, they represented a substantial portion of their accounting firms' revenues. This lead to the speculation that the accountants could not provide truly independent opinions for these giant companies, who provided the accountants with extremely lucrative contracts but also might have terminated these contracts if undesirable accounting opinions were issued.
Accountant's Letter
A letter that usually precedes a financial report. An accountant's letter is produced by a company's independent auditors. It summarizes the scope of the accountant's audit and its results in very general terms. The term is frequently used interchangeably with the term "auditor's opinion".
The accountant's letter usually expresses a "clean" opinion, which means the accountant or accounting firm believes the financial statements are accurate and that they fairly present the company's financial condition. A "qualified" opinion indicates deficiencies in the company's procedures or presentation (meaning the financial statements may not be accurate or may not conform to GAAP).
An "adverse" opinion, which indicates that a company's financials are misrepresented, is yet another possibility. The most well known opinion is the "going concern", which means that the accounting firm has doubts about the company's financial health and its ability to remain in business.
The ethical responsibility that an accountant has to those who rely on his/her work. An accountant has a responsibility to the company’s management, investors, creditors, outside regulatory bodies, and the integrity of the financial markets.
Accountants are responsible for the validity of the financial statements they work on, and must perform their duties in accordance with all applicable principles, standards and laws.
The accountant's responsibility outlines who the accountant is working for. Even though an independent accountant may be hired by a company’s management, the responsibility of an accountant is owed to many others as well. The duty to uphold principles, standards and laws of accounting is owed to the companies, stockholders and creditors they account for.
An accountant who does not uphold his responsibilities can have broad effects on the accounting industry and the financial markets by weakening general perception of all involved.
Accountant's Opinion
A statement signed by an independent accountant outlining his or her opinion regarding the quality of information contained in a company's financial reports and records.
An accountant's opinion statement can either be qualified or unqualified. When the opinion is qualified, the accountant is questioning the accounting principles and/or scope of the information provided. An unqualified opinion is given when the accountant sees that the given information in the financial statements is sound. In other words, an unqualified opinion is desirable whereas a qualified opinion is not.
The subject of accountant independence became an important issue in the wake of the demise of such corporate giants as Enron and WorldCom in the early 2000's. Because Enron and WorldCom were large companies, they represented a substantial portion of their accounting firms' revenues. This lead to the speculation that the accountants could not provide truly independent opinions for these giant companies, who provided the accountants with extremely lucrative contracts but also might have terminated these contracts if undesirable accounting opinions were issued.
Accountant's Letter
A letter that usually precedes a financial report. An accountant's letter is produced by a company's independent auditors. It summarizes the scope of the accountant's audit and its results in very general terms. The term is frequently used interchangeably with the term "auditor's opinion".
The accountant's letter usually expresses a "clean" opinion, which means the accountant or accounting firm believes the financial statements are accurate and that they fairly present the company's financial condition. A "qualified" opinion indicates deficiencies in the company's procedures or presentation (meaning the financial statements may not be accurate or may not conform to GAAP).
An "adverse" opinion, which indicates that a company's financials are misrepresented, is yet another possibility. The most well known opinion is the "going concern", which means that the accounting firm has doubts about the company's financial health and its ability to remain in business.
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