Evaluating the quality of the auditor’s report on the financial statements in accordance with International Auditing Standards No. (701 and 705

applied research

Abstract

Abstract:

          During the other two decades of the last century, Iraq witnessed clear and tangible changes in social, economic and political conditions. One of the most important of these changes is the transition to a free economic system with its various tools and devices and the increase in foreign investments in Iraq. Therefore, the matter requires that the accounting and auditing profession in Iraq be able to keep pace with these changes and developments so that it can perform the required role. In order for this to be achieved, the profession must have a system of basic components that enable it to do so efficiently and effectively. One of the most important of these components is the existence of auditing standards on the basis of which the external audit of the financial statements is carried out. The standards are considered to be the model or pattern that the auditor must follow while performing his work and are used to judge the type and quality of the work carried out by the auditor. They also specify the responsibility that the auditor bears as a result of performing the audit. The research aims to demonstrate the extent to which the Iraqi Auditing Guide No. (2) regarding the auditor’s report on the financial statements, issued by the Accounting and Regulatory Standards Board in the Republic of Iraq in 1999, fulfills the International Auditing Standard No. (701, 705) regarding forming the external auditor’s opinion and reporting on the financial statements. Issued by the International Federation of Accountants for the year 2022 AD.    The research reached several conclusions, the most important of which is the existence of a gap between the requirements of the approved international auditing standards related to the auditor’s report and Audit Guide No. (2) in the auditor’s report, as the percentage of compliance of Audit Guide No. (2) with the requirements of international standards reached (31%) and the percentage of non-compliance It fulfills these requirements (69%), which indicates that the Iraqi audit manuals do not cover the requirements of international auditing standards, which affects the quality of the auditor’s report. The research concluded with the recommendation of the Accounting and Regulatory Standards Board in Iraq to seek to begin work on amending the Iraqi audit manuals related to the auditor’s report. Accounts, especially Audit Guide No. (2), in line with developments in international auditing standards for the report, to develop the auditors’ report in Iraq and improve its content to be more useful to users in making their current and future decisions.