Learn › Business Score figures
Auditor's opinion
The verdict the outside auditor signs at the front of the annual accounts. A clean ("unmodified") opinion says the accounts can be relied on; a modified one says the auditor had reservations.
Example
A modified opinion might say the auditor could not verify a large receivable — the money is on the books, but nobody outside the company has confirmed it exists.
Worth knowing
A modified opinion is a flag to read the reason, not a verdict on the business. The reasons range from a single unverifiable number to doubts about the whole set of accounts.