Reasonable assurance

Reasonable assurance is a high, but not absolute, level of assurance. The practitioner reduces engagement risk to an acceptably low level through sufficient appropriate evidence and expresses a conclusion in a positive form appropriate to the engagement. A financial-statement audit is designed to provide reasonable assurance that the statements are free from material misstatement. Inherent limitations, including judgement, sampling and the possibility of concealed fraud, mean the auditor cannot obtain absolute assurance. The conclusion concerns material misstatement as a whole and is based on evidence, not certainty about every transaction.