Review

Review is an engagement that provides a limited level of assurance. The objective of a review is not so much to find evidence regarding all material data presented in the financial statements but rather to establish that no circumstances exist that would refer to errors in the information presented in the financial statements.

As a result of the review of financial information, the auditor shall issue a report that provides a lower level of assurance than the audit report but is prepared faster and at less cost. Compared to the opinion expressed in the usual auditor’s report, in the review report, the auditor expresses his/her opinion in a so-called reversed form through double negation. Usually, the opinion section of a review report reads as follows:

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the annual report does not present fairly, in all material aspects, the company’s financial position as of 31.12.20xx and of its financial performance and cash flows for the reporting period then ended in accordance with Estonian Financial Reporting Standard.

Due to the character of the work and the amount of time spent, a review usually costs less for the client than an audit.