GEORGE NEWS - With the announcement last week of George's sixth consecutive clean audit for the 2016/17 financial year, Chief Financial Officer Keith Jordaan used the term "unqualified audit opinion" when he commented on this big achievement. 

In response to a request for an explanation regarding the terminology, Jordaan said: "The term 'unqualified audit' is the correct terminology for a clean audit. 

"All queries received from the Auditor-General have been addressed and the announcement was made based on the report received from the Auditor-General's office on 30 November." 

An unqualified opinion, he said, is an independent auditor's judgement that a municipality's financial records and statements are fairly and appropriately presented, and in accordance with Generally Recognised Accounting Principles (Grap). 

"An unqualified opinion is the most common type of auditor's report. An unqualified opinion is issued when the independent auditor believes that the municipality's financial statements are sound; that is, the statements are free from material misstatements. 

"This is different from a qualified opinion which is issued when the independent auditor discovers something in the financial statements that is subject to major concern."

What is a 'Qualified Opinion'?
A qualified opinion is a statement issued after an audit is done by a professional auditor that suggests the information provided was limited in scope and / or the company being audited has not maintained Grap accounting principles.

Read a previous article: George gets 6th clean audit

ARTICLE: MICHELLE PIENAAR, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST

'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'