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11 Professional Audit Report Templates for Business

Zain Zia
Written by Zain Zia
Published at Oct 23, 2024
Edited by: Unenabasi Ekeruke
Reviewed by: Victoria Taylor
11 Professional Audit Report Templates for Business

Financial reporting is a huge responsibility for any business.

Even the smallest oversight in accuracy or legal requirements can often lead to a loss of trust in stakeholders and investors, and that’s something most businesses simply can’t afford to risk.

Audit report templates help businesses build credibility and stay out of trouble by ensuring their financials are clear, accurate and compliant.

Creating an audit report from scratch can be a time-consuming process. You want to ensure it looks professional and contains all the necessary sections.

That’s why we’ve put together this list of audit report templates you can use to get started on the right foot.

 

Table of Contents

Quick Read

  • Audit reports are formal documents containing the professional opinions of an auditor on whether a firm’s financial statements are accurate and comply with GAAP.
  • There are four types of audit reports: clean report, qualified report, disclaimer report and adverse audit reports. A clean report is the best report a business can receive and an adverse report is the worst.
  • Give direction and structure to your audit reports by following the 5 C’s: Criteria, Conditions, Cause, Consequence and Corrective Action.
  • Use Visme's report maker to present complex financial analysis and opinions in a way that's not only easy to understand but also impresses top-level management.

 

What Is an Audit Report?

An audit report is a formal document prepared by an independent or external auditor. It contains the auditor's professional opinions on whether the company's financial statements are accurate, complete and in line with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

The audit report is an important tool for decision-making and strategic planning. First, it helps top-level management identify areas for improvement.

It also assists investors in making informed decisions about their investments and reassures regulators that the company complies with financial regulations and standards.

 

The Importance of an Audit Report

Audit reports are necessary documents for many reasons. They help:

  • Identify areas of financial risk (or weakness) in the company's financial process
  • Ensure compliance with accounting standards and legal requirements
  • Verify the accuracy and completeness of financial statements
  • Support informed decision-making by providing a clear picture of the company's financial health
  • Build trust and credibility with shareholders, investors and other stakeholders
  • Maintain the company's reputation and integrity in the market
  • Facilitate the detection and prevention of fraud and financial irregularities

 

Types of Audit Reports

Made with Visme Infographic Maker

 An audit report typically consists of three sections:

  • Responsibilities of the auditor and the directors of the client business
  • Scope of the audit
  • Auditors' opinion on client’s financial statements

Within this framework, the auditor expresses their judgment (also known as the audit opinion) in four types of audit reports, each reflecting a different level of assurance about the company's financial practices and compliance:

1. Clean Report or Unqualified Opinion

If an auditor prepares a clean report for a business, their financial statements are free from material misstatements and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

This is the best type of report a business can receive and the most common type of report a business expects to receive.

A clean report is also referred to as an unqualified opinion because the auditors conclude the company does not need to adjust or correct anything to improve its financial status.

2. Qualified Report or Qualified Opinion

An auditor issues a qualified report or qualified opinion for a business when their financial reporting is generally fair, except for a specified issue.

The issue could be related to:

  • Limitation of the scope of the audit
  • Noncompliance with the GAAP guidelines
  • Incomplete documentation
  • Uncertainty in estimates

These issues, although significant, aren’t enough to completely reject the financial statements. Instead, they are highlighted in the auditor's report, drawing investors' attention to specific areas where the financial information may not be entirely reliable.

3. Disclaimer Report or Disclaimer of Opinion

A disclaimer report or disclaimer of opinion is issued when an auditor feels that the company failed to present the necessary documentation and information or failed to give satisfactory answers to any of their questions during the audit.

While preparing this type of audit opinion, it's important for auditors to clearly state the reason for their opinion, indicating that stakeholders should exercise caution, as the auditor could not confirm the company’s financial status.

4. Adverse Audit Report or Adverse Opinion

An adverse audit report or adverse opinion is the most serious type of report a business can receive. It concludes that a company's financial statements have gross misstatements and do not comply with any of GAAP's guidelines.

This audit opinion is given when there are significant discrepancies in the financial statements, which could be due to errors, fraudulent practices, or significant deviations from GAAP.

An Adverse Opinion indicates potential fraud in the company and alerts investors to stay away from it. It also highlights the changes the company needs to make to improve its practices.

 

11 Audit Report Templates to Know

Visme has dozens of professional audit report templates in its library—all of which are designed to not only streamline your auditing process but also bring your financial analysis to life.

Here are 11 of the best audit report templates to get started with:

1. Audit Report Template

Audit Report
Audit Report
Audit Report
Audit Report
Audit Report
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Share your professional financial audit opinion, recommendations and analysis with your clients with the help of this eye-catching audit report template. It features eye-catching colors, relevant stock images and data widgets to present financial data in an engaging way.

This business audit template also has dedicated pages where you can type in the scope of your audit and recommendations, which is ideal for most audit reports.

Strapped for time or stuck with a creative block? Use our AI document generator to create a customized audit report template in seconds. Simply type in a prompt, choose your design style and customize the AI-generated audit report with your own content and branding.

 

2. Internal Audit Report

Internal Audit Report
Internal Audit Report
Internal Audit Report
Internal Audit Report
Internal Audit Report
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Present the results of your recent internal audit in an impressive way using this audit report template.

Featuring a creative color combination and a host of unique graphic assets, including animated characters and icons, the template is guaranteed to breathe life into your content.

Fully customize this internal audit report template by replacing the placeholder text with your own and make it your own. Don't forget to upload your branding elements to it.

Skip the hassle of uploading each element over and over again. Instead, create your personalized brand kit in Visme to apply your branding with one click across all projects. Let the Brand Wizard pull your assets directly from your website or upload them manually once.

 

3. Financial Audit Report Template

Financial Audit Report
Financial Audit Report
Financial Audit Report
Financial Audit Report
Financial Audit Report
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

This financial audit report template is specifically designed for auditors and financial analysts. The data widgets, colors, icons, fonts and layout are all guaranteed to make your reports more engaging.

It features pages where you can upload your client's balance sheet, profit and loss statement and cash flow statement.

Bring your financial analysis to life with our selection of 30+ data widgets, including progress bars, radial gauges and watches. You can also choose from a variety of charts and graphs, all of which are fully customizable and completely interactive.

A GIF of adding charts or graphs to an audit report

 

4. Corporate Audit Report Template

Corporate Audit Report
Corporate Audit Report
Corporate Audit Report
Corporate Audit Report
Corporate Audit Report
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Present your financial analysis in an impeccable fashion with this corporate audit report template. It features amazing colors, professional charts and graphs and a selection of creative fonts.

Make the template your own by swapping out the placeholder text with your own. Add your audit scope, opinions, findings, analysis and recommendations to paint a precise picture of the firm’s financial health.

Additionally, because of this template’s versatile design layout and style, you can repurpose it as an IT audit report template.

Make sure your audit reports stand out by tapping into our icon library which has ready-to-use graphics in over 20 categories. Change their colors, resize them, or add animations—possibilities are endless.

 

5. Brand Audit Document Template

Brand Audit Document
Brand Audit Document
Brand Audit Document
Brand Audit Document
Brand Audit Document
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

A brand audit is an in-depth assessment of a company’s brand—including its strengths, weaknesses, voice, positioning and visual identity. The purpose of a brand audit is to determine a brand’s health and identify opportunities for improvement.

Convey the findings of your brand audit with the help of this visually appealing document template. It comes with pastel colors, relevant imagery and a selection of data widgets, helping make your brand analysis both captivating and professional.

The template also includes specifically designed pages to help you describe the scope of your audit and strategic recommendations, making it a perfect match for comprehensive brand audits.

Once you’re done designing your audit report, share it with your clients via a link or publish it online—all without leaving Visme. You can also track the performance of your reports, including the number of views, unique visits, average time spent and completion rate.

 

6. Social Media Audit Report Template

Social Media Audit Report
Social Media Audit Report
Social Media Audit Report
Social Media Audit Report
Social Media Audit Report
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

A social media audit involves diving into your social profiles, strategies and campaigns across platforms to see what’s working, what’s not and where you can improve.

This dynamic social media audit report template is perfect for showcasing the performance of your client's online presence with an engaging layout and industry-specific imagery.

Data widgets are used to make your financial analysis more digestible, making them ideal for effectively communicating insights to clients and stakeholders.

Grab your reader's attention by adding relevant stock images and videos to your reports. You can even create images from scratch using Visme’s AI image generator—enter a detailed prompt describing the type and style of your image and let AI do all the heavy lifting for you.

 

7. Real Estate Social Media Audit Report Template

Real Estate Social Media Audit Report
Real Estate Social Media Audit Report
Real Estate Social Media Audit Report
Real Estate Social Media Audit Report
Real Estate Social Media Audit Report
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Tailored for real estate professionals, this audit report template offers a unique blend of aesthetic appeal and functionality. It features incredible graphics, including real estate-themed images and colors, top-notch vector icons and professionally designed pages.

The overall design is clean and easy to read, exactly what you want in a social media audit report. Make them your own by uploading your branding kit and replacing the placeholder text of the template.

The template can also be customized for any other industry or profession. Just swap out the graphics with the ones that are related to your industry and you're good to go.

Each part of this audit report template and all other Visme templates is fully editable—add or remove pages, change graphic assets, incorporate animated characters and much more. Visme lets you add interactivity and animation to any element you want.

 

8. Fire Safety Audit Report Template

Fire Safety Audit Report
Fire Safety Audit Report
Fire Safety Audit Report
Fire Safety Audit Report
Fire Safety Audit Report
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

A fire safety audit involves a detailed review of a building or area to check its alignment with established fire safety norms, guidelines and best practices.

This fire safety audit report template is designed for clarity and impact. It combines relevant photos with a clean layout, icons and colors to communicate critical findings and recommendations effectively.

The template also includes specialized sections for the scope of work, objectives, detailed review of firefighting equipment and safety recommendations, making it a vital tool for conveying important safety information in an organized and impactful manner.

Get multiple people to work on the same audit report with Visme’s collaboration features. Tag team members, annotate, share comments and design together to speed up the process and produce professional reports.

 

9. Audit Proposal Template

Audit Proposal
Audit Proposal
Audit Proposal
Audit Proposal
Audit Proposal
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Looking to promote your auditing firm? Use this professionally designed audit proposal template to get started. It features a beautiful design layout that's brought to life with high-resolution stock photos, vector icons, brilliant fonts and carefully crafted pages that’ll help you present your services, clients and pricing in an impactful manner.

Facing a writer's block? Don’t worry; just use our AI text generator to create that first draft.

Enter a detailed prompt describing your audience, tone and objectives. Edit or regenerate text until you're satisfied with the results.

 

10. QA Testing Proposal Template

QA Testing Proposal
QA Testing Proposal
QA Testing Proposal
QA Testing Proposal
QA Testing Proposal
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

Present your audit services in the best way possible with the help of this proposal template. It includes specifically designed areas where you can share your core values, portfolio, customer testimonials, project overview and proposed workflow.

The graphics and layout selection are perfect to immediately grab the attention of your prospective clients. You can find more proposal templates similar to this or for different industries.

 

11. Government Project Audit Report

Government Project Audit Report
Government Project Audit Report
Government Project Audit Report
Government Project Audit Report
Government Project Audit Report
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download

A project audit thoroughly evaluates a project's management and execution against set standards and objectives, pinpointing areas for improvement.

This professional audit report templates features exquisite colors, a modern layout, high-res images from Visme’s stock photo library and tables to help you present your financial analysis in an impactful manner.

The template also comes with dedicated sections for in-depth analysis, findings and policy recommendations.

Working on reports with your team can be overwhelming. Use Visme’s workflow management tools to simplify your projects by assigning roles, setting deadlines, tracking progress, doing review rounds and more all in one place.

 

How to Write an Audit Report

A good audit report communicates its findings and insights to its readers, enabling them to take recommended actions to mitigate risk and ensure the company is meeting its objectives.

The audit report doesn't even need to be lengthy; even a concise, one-page report can be impactful if it accurately conveys essential information.

What to Include in an Audit Report

  • Executive summary: Briefly summarize the scope, objectives, key findings and overall conclusions of the audit. This section should give the audience a clear snapshot of the report’s content.
  • Scope & objectives: Highlight what was audited, its time frame and the reason why audit risk areas are important to management.
  • Findings: Detail the specific observations, discrepancies and potential issues discovered during the audit.
  • Conclusions: Discuss what the results mean for the organization. Tie this section to the audit's scope and objectives.
  • Recommendations: Offer actionable and practical steps that the organization can take to address the identified issues.

Create reports for multiple clients without designing from scratch every single time. Use Dynamic Fields to automatically swap content and information (e.g. organization name and financial figures) depending on who you share your projects with.

Best Practices for Writing an Audit Report

Now that you know what to include in an audit report, here are some best practices you should follow to create engaging and efficient audit reports:

  • Keep the report concise: Focus on delivering essential information in a clear, brief manner. Avoid unnecessary details and stick to highlighting key points.
  • Balance positive & negative insights: Present both strengths and areas for improvement to provide a fair and objective view of the situation.
  • Add references: Include relevant references like pinpointing to sources to support your findings. This will also enhance the credibility of your report.
  • Follow the five Cs: Stick to the five Cs of audit reporting: Criteria, Conditions, Cause, Consequence and Corrective Action. This will give your direction and structure to your observations and recommendations.
  • Use tables & graphs to visualize data: Simplify complex data through visual elements like tables and graphs to make the report more engaging.

Need a starting point for your report? Use Visme’s AI report writer to generate a branded audit report personalized for your specific needs and requirements.

 

Audit Report FAQs

An unqualified audit report is the best type of report a company can receive. It indicates that the financial statements are presented fairly, without any identified significant errors and are in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

A qualified audit report is issued when an auditor finds that most of the company’s financial records are accurate, but some areas do not fully comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), or there are some limitations in the scope of the audit.

A qualified audit report isn’t necessarily a negative report; it just highlights specific areas that require attention.

The 5 C’s of audit are Criteria, Condition, Cause, Consequence and Corrective Action.

  • Criteria: The standards or benchmarks used to assess the company’s performance or condition.
  • Condition: The actual state of the company, observed and documented during the audit.
  • Cause: The reason or factors contributing to the current condition or discrepancies found.
  • Consequence: The potential or actual impact of the condition if left unaddressed.
  • Corrective Action: Recommendations or steps proposed to rectify the identified issues or improve the condition.

An audit report typically includes these key elements:

  • Executive summary
  • Scope and purpose of the audit
  • Detailed description of the auditor’s findings
  • Auditor’s opinions
  • Recommendations for improvements
  • Conclusion to summarize overall findings

 

Create Professional Audit Reports with Visme

Audit reports are important documents—they need to be accurate, compliant and professional-looking at the same time.

Use a tool like Visme to create audit reports that tick all the boxes. Our audit report templates are tailored to a wide range of businesses and services. Plus, they're fully editable so you can adapt them to your brand style and requirements.

The best part? You can work together with your team in a collaborative, powerful workspace. Find out more about how Visme can help your company create all kinds of professional documents, presentations and assets for both external and internal communication.

Zain Zia
Written by Zain Zia

Meet Zain: freelance writer for B2B SaaS by day and YouTube content creator by night. He specializes in transforming complex, technical ideas into simple, engaging and actionable content. When he’s not working, he’s busy being a dad, playing soccer or planning his next family trip around the world. He’s currently based in Antalya where he lives right next to the beach. Connect with him on LinkedIn or check out his portfolio.

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