Meaning & use
qualified opinion
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Meanings
nouncountablebusinessfinancetechnical
An auditor's report stating that financial statements are mostly fair but contain a specific material issue.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a qualified opinion' or 'qualified opinions'.
Patterns
- issue a qualified opinion
- receive a qualified opinion
- a qualified opinion on something
The auditor issued a qualified opinion because the company had not properly valued its inventory.
After receiving a qualified opinion, the firm promised to improve its internal controls.
A qualified opinion is less severe than an adverse opinion but more serious than an unqualified one.
nouncountable
A view or judgment that is limited by conditions, reservations, or a lack of full support.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'give' or 'offer'.
Patterns
- give a qualified opinion
- offer a qualified opinion
- a qualified opinion about something
She gave a qualified opinion on the plan, saying it could work only with more funding.
His qualified opinion disappointed the team, who had hoped for full endorsement.
The committee offered a qualified opinion, noting several unresolved concerns.
Word forms
| plural | qualified opinions |
|---|
Common combinations
- issue a qualified opinion
- The accounting firm issued a qualified opinion after finding errors in the reports.
- receive a qualified opinion
- The startup received a qualified opinion from its first external audit.
- a qualified opinion on the financial statements
- The auditor expressed a qualified opinion on the financial statements due to missing records.
- a qualified opinion from the auditor
- The board was concerned about the qualified opinion from the auditor.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reservation
- A reservation is a doubt or exception you express; a qualified opinion is a formal report that includes such a reservation.
- caveat
- A caveat is a warning or limiting condition; a qualified opinion is a specific type of auditor's conclusion.
- exception
- In auditing, an exception is a specific item that does not follow the rules; a qualified opinion is the overall report noting such exceptions.
Opposites
Word family
- qualify verb
- To add a condition or limitation to a statement.
- qualified adjective
- Limited or restricted; also means having the necessary skills.
- qualification noun
- A condition or limitation; also a skill or certificate.
Commonly confused: qualified opinion or unqualified opinion? qualified opinion or adverse opinion?
qualified opinion vs unqualified opinion
An unqualified opinion is clean and positive; a qualified opinion points out a problem.
qualified opinion vs adverse opinion
An adverse opinion says the financial statements are not fair overall; a qualified opinion says they are fair except for one issue.
Practice
The auditor found a significant problem with the company's revenue recognition, so she decided to issue a ______ opinion.
Choose one answer.
A 'qualified opinion' is issued when there is a specific material issue but the statements are mostly fair. 'Unqualified' and 'clean' are positive and would not reflect the problem. 'Adverse' is too severe for a single issue.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “qualified opinion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.