What is the auditor's responsibility regarding the detection of material misstatements in Deer Solution's financial statements due to fraud versus error?
Deer_Solution Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not absolute assurance and therefore is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. Misstatements are considered material if there is a substantial likelihood that, individually or in the aggregate, they would influence the judgment made by a reasonable user based on the financial statements.
In performing an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, we:
- Exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit.
- Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks. Such procedures include examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.
- Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of Deer Solution Franchising, LLC's internal control. Accordingly, no such opinion is expressed.
- Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluate the overall presentation of the financial statements.
- Conclude whether, in our judgment, there are conditions or events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about Deer Solution Franchising, LLC's ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 55–246)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Deer Solution's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the auditor's objective is to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes their opinion. While reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, it is not absolute, and there is no guarantee that an audit conducted according to generally accepted auditing standards will always detect a material misstatement.
The auditor's responsibility includes identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. They design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including examining evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements on a test basis. The auditor also obtains an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit to design appropriate audit procedures, but they do not express an opinion on the effectiveness of Deer Solution's internal control.
The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error. This is because fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. The auditor exercises professional judgment and maintains professional skepticism throughout the audit. They evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used, the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, and the overall presentation of the financial statements. The auditor also concludes whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about Deer Solution's ability to continue as a going concern.
In summary, while the auditor is responsible for detecting material misstatements in Deer Solution's financial statements, the risk of not detecting misstatements due to fraud is higher than that of error due to the deceptive nature of fraudulent activities. A prospective franchisee should understand that an audit provides reasonable, but not absolute, assurance of the financial statements' accuracy.