[The following title and paragraphs of AI 23, amended to read as follows, will be effective for audits of fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2017. See PCAOB Release No. 2017-001.The current auditing interpretations can be found here.]

AI 23: Departures from Unqualified Opinions and Other Reporting Circumstances: Auditing Interpretations of AS 3105

1. Report of an Outside Inventory-Taking Firm as an Alternative Procedure for Observing Inventories

.01 Question— Paragraph .07 of AS 3105, Departures from Unqualified Opinions and Other Reporting Circumstances, states that "Common restrictions on the scope of the audit include those applying to the observation of physical inventories and the confirmation of accounts receivable by direct communication with debtors. . . ." A footnote to that paragraph states: "Circumstances such as the timing of the work may make it impossible for the auditor to accomplish these procedures. In this case, if the auditor is able to satisfy himself or herself as to inventories or accounts receivable by applying alternative procedures, there is no significant limitation on the scope of the work, and the report need not include reference to the omission of the procedures or to the use of alternative procedures." Outside firms of nonaccountants specializing in the taking of physical inventories are used at times by some companies, such as retail stores, hospitals, and automobile dealers, to count, list, price and subsequently compute the total dollar amount of inventory on hand at the date of the physical count. Would obtaining the report of an outside inventory-taking firm be an acceptable alternative procedure to the independent auditor's own observation of physical inventories?

.36 An example of the Opinion on the Financial Statements and the Basis for Opinion sections of an auditor's report on single year financial statements in the year of adoption of liquidation basis follows:^1A

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the statement of net assets in liquidation of XYZ Company (the "Company") as of December 31, 20X2, and the related statement of changes in net assets in liquidation for the period from April 26, 20X2 to December 31, 20X2, and audited the statements of income, retained earnings, and cash flows for the period from January 1, 20X2 to April 25, 20X2, and the related notes [and schedules] (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the net assets in liquidation of the Company as of December 31, 20X2, the changes in its net assets in liquidation for the period from April 26, 20X2 to December 31, 20X2, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from January 1, 20X2 to April 25, 20X2, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America applied on the bases described below.

As described in Note X to the financial statements, the stockholders of the Company approved a plan of liquidation on April 25, 20X2, and the Company commenced liquidation shortly thereafter. As a result, the Company has changed its basis of accounting for periods subsequent to April 25, 20X2 from the going-concern basis to a liquidation basis.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

An example of the Opinion on the Financial Statements and the Basis for Opinion sections of an auditor's report on comparative financial statements in the year of adoption of liquidation basis follows:^1B

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the balance sheet of XYZ Company (the "Company") as of December 31, 20X1, the related statements of income, retained earnings, and cash flows for the year then ended, and the statements of income, retained earnings, and cash flows for the period from January 1, 20X2 to April 25, 20X2, and audited the statement of net assets in liquidation as of December 31, 20X2, and the related statement of changes in net assets in liquidation for the period from April 26, 20X2 to December 31, 20X2, and the related notes [and schedules] (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 20X1, the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended and for the period from January 1, 20X2 to April 25, 20X2, its net assets in liquidation as of December 31, 20X2, and the changes in its net assets in liquidation for the period from April 26, 20X2 to December 31, 20X2, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America applied on the bases described below.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

^1A The auditor's report must include the same basic elements and communication of critical audit matters as would be required in an unqualified auditor's report under AS 3101, The Auditor's Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion.

^1B Id.

12. Reference in Auditor's Unqualified Report to Management's Report

.51 Question—One of the basic elements of the auditor's unqualified report is a statement that the financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. That statement is required in the auditor's report even when a document containing the auditor's report includes a statement by management regarding its responsibility for the presentation of the financial statements. When an annual shareholders' report (or other client-prepared document that includes audited financial statements) contains a management report that states the financial statements are the responsibility of management, is it permissible for the auditor's report to include a reference to the management report?

.52 Interpretation—No. The statement about management's responsibilities for the financial statements required by AS 3101, The Auditor's Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion, should not be further elaborated upon in the auditor's unqualified report or referenced to management's report. Such modifications to the auditor's unqualified report may lead users to erroneously believe that the auditor is providing assurances about representations made by management about their responsibility for financial reporting, internal controls and other matters that might be discussed in the management report.

14. Reporting on Audits Conducted in Accordance with the Standards of the PCAOB and in Accordance with International Standards on Auditing

.56 Question—AS 3101 requires a statement that the audit was conducted in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. If the auditor conducts the audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing promulgated by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants, may the auditor so indicate in the auditor’s report?

.57 Interpretation—Yes. AS 3101 requires that the auditor indicate in the auditor’s report that the audit was conducted in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB; however, AS 3101 does not prohibit the auditor from indicating that the audit also was conducted in accordance with another set of auditing standards. If the audit also was conducted in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing, in their entirety, the auditor may so indicate in the auditor’s report. To determine whether an audit was conducted in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing, it is necessary to consider the text of the International Standards on Auditing in their entirety, including the basic principles and essential procedures together with the related guidance included in the International Standards on Auditing.

.59 An example of reporting on an audit conducted in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with International Standards on Auditing follows:

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

.61 Interpretation—If the prior-period audited financial statements are unchanged, pursuant to AS 3105.58 the successor auditor should indicate in the Opinion on the Financial Statements section of his or her report (a) that the financial statements of the prior period were audited by another auditor, (b) the date of the predecessor auditor's report, (c) the type of report issued by the predecessor auditor, and (d) if the report was other than an auditor's unqualified report, the substantive reasons therefor. The successor auditor ordinarily also should indicate that the other auditor has ceased operations. Footnote 18 of AS 3105 indicates that the successor auditor should not name the predecessor auditor in the report. An example of the reference that would be added to the Opinion on the Financial Statements section of the successor auditor's report is presented as follows:

The financial statements of ABC Company as of December 31, 20X1, and for the year then ended were audited by other auditors who have ceased operations. Those auditors expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements in their report dated March 31, 20X2.

A reference to the predecessor auditor's report should be included even if the predecessor auditor's report on the prior-period financial statements is reprinted and accompanies the successor auditor's report, because reprinting does not constitute reissuance of the predecessor auditor’s report.

.63 When the prior-period financial statements have been restated, the successor auditor may be engaged either to reaudit the prior-period financial statements or to audit only the restatement adjustments. If the successor auditor is engaged to audit only the restatement adjustments and applies sufficient procedures to satisfy himself or herself as to the appropriateness of the restatement adjustments, the successor auditor may report on the restatement adjustments using the guidance in AS 3105.58. (The auditor also may use the guidance on alternative language contained in paragraph .71, below.) In determining the nature, timing and extent of procedures, the successor auditor should consider that a predecessor auditor who has ceased operations cannot perform the procedures to evaluate the appropriateness of the restatement adjustments as described in AS 2905, Subsequent Discovery of Facts Existing at the Date of the Auditor's Report.

.71 If the successor auditor is engaged to audit only the restatement adjustments and applies sufficient procedures to satisfy himself or herself as to the appropriateness of the restatement adjustments, the successor auditor may report on the restatement adjustments using the guidance in AS 3105.58. Alternatively, the successor auditor may wish to make it clear that he or she did not audit, review, or apply other procedures to the prior-period financial statements beyond the procedures applied to the restatement adjustments. Accordingly, he or she may include the following paragraph in his or her report:

As discussed above, the financial statements of ABC Company as of December 31, 20X1, and for the year then ended were audited by other auditors who have ceased operations. As described in Note X, these financial statements have been restated [revised]. We audited the adjustments described in Note X that were applied to restate [revise] the 20X1 financial statements. In our opinion, such adjustments are appropriate and have been properly applied. However, we were not engaged to audit, review, or apply any procedures to the 20X1 financial statements of the Company other than with respect to such adjustments and, accordingly, we do not express an opinion or any other form of assurance on the 20X1 financial statements taken as a whole.

.74 Question—If the prior-period financial statements audited by a predecessor auditor who has ceased operations have been subsequently restated, but the successor auditor has not yet completed an audit of current-period financial statements, can the successor auditor report on the restatement adjustments pursuant to 3105.58?

.75 Interpretation—No. AS 3105.58 is only applicable when the prior-period financial statements are presented for comparative purposes with current-period audited financial statements. If the prior-period financial statements have been restated, and the successor auditor is requested to report on those financial statements without also reporting on current-period audited financial statements, the successor auditor would need to reaudit the prior-period financial statements in order to report on them.

[Effective pursuant to SEC Release No. 34-81916, File No. PCAOB-2017-01 (October 23, 2017)]