ACCA Audit and Assurance (F8) Practice Exam

What kind of assurance does a review engagement provide?

1. Limited assurance

2. Absolute assurance

3. Reasonable assurance

4. No assurance

The correct answer is: Limited assurance

A review engagement provides limited assurance, which means that the practitioner is able to state that they did not become aware of any material modifications that should be made to the financial statements in order for them to be in accordance with applicable financial reporting framework. This is achieved through inquiry and analytical procedures, which do not involve the more extensive procedures and evidence-gathering that a full audit entails. In the context of assurance engagement types, limited assurance reflects a lower level of assurance compared to reasonable assurance provided in a full audit. Reasonable assurance indicates that an auditor has obtained sufficient appropriate audit evidence to reduce audit risk to an acceptably low level, providing a higher assurance about the reliability of the financial statements. Absolute assurance, on the other hand, is unattainable in practice because of inherent limitations in any financial reporting system, including the fact that even the best internal controls cannot provide complete certainty of the accuracy of financial statements. No assurance would imply that the practitioner is not providing any assessment of the financial statements, which would not be the case in a review engagement. Therefore, limited assurance accurately describes the type of assurance offered through a review engagement.