What is a Piecemeal Opinion?

A piecemeal opinion is a report issued by an external auditor, in which the auditor states an opinion regarding specific line items within a client's financial statements. It was usually issued when an auditor was issuing an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, possibly in regard to the absence of enough information to complete a full audit.

A piecemeal opinion is no longer allowed under generally accepted auditing standards, but had been intended to offset an overall adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion. A piecemeal opinion is now banned because it tended to contradict the effect of the overall opinion.

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FAQs

In what circumstances were piecemeal opinions historically issued?

Historically, piecemeal opinions were issued when auditors could not obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to express an overall opinion, often due to scope limitations, but believed certain accounts were fairly presented. They attempted to opine on specific line items while disclaiming or modifying the opinion on the financial statements overall.