Auditing and Attestation- Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Practice Exam -

If a complete set of financial statements received a qualified opinion, what would the auditor most likely issue for the accounts receivable audit?

1. Qualified opinion.

2. Adverse opinion.

3. Unmodified opinion.

4. Disclaimer of opinion.

The correct answer is: Adverse opinion.

In situations where a complete set of financial statements has received a qualified opinion, this indicates that there are certain issues or limitations with the financial statements, but they are not pervasive or severe enough to warrant an adverse opinion. A qualified opinion suggests that while the financial statements are mostly accurate, there are specific items that may not comply fully with the applicable financial reporting framework. When conducting the audit for accounts receivable specifically, the auditor would evaluate the same criteria that led to the qualified opinion regarding the overall financial statements. If the issues found in the overall audit directly impact accounts receivable, and given that these issues are serious enough to preclude the auditor from expressing an unmodified opinion solely on the accounts receivable, the auditor may issue a qualified opinion on that specific area as well. The issuance of an adverse opinion, a disclaimer of opinion, or an unmodified opinion would not be appropriate in this context because these reflect either pervasive issues that are more significant than the ones disclosed in a qualified opinion or a lack of sufficient evidence, which does not align with the scenario described. Therefore, it is more plausible that the auditor would issue a qualified opinion for the accounts receivable audit when the overall financial statements received the same.