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What should auditors obtain to support their opinion on financial statements?

  1. Minimal evidence to reduce work.

  2. Only evidence deemed necessary.

  3. Sufficient appropriate evidence.

  4. All evidence available, regardless of relevance.

The correct answer is: Sufficient appropriate evidence.

To support their opinion on financial statements, auditors must obtain sufficient appropriate evidence. This is a fundamental principle of auditing, as the reliability and validity of the auditor's opinion are closely tied to the quality and quantity of the evidence gathered. Sufficiency refers to the quantity of evidence the auditor collects, which must be adequate to provide a reasonable basis for their opinion. If the evidence is insufficient, it can lead to an uninformed opinion on the financial statements. Appropriateness, on the other hand, refers to the relevance and reliability of the evidence. The auditor must ensure the evidence is relevant to the audit objectives and can be trusted based on its source and nature. This choice emphasizes a balanced approach where the auditor does not skimp on evidence collection nor exhaust resources beyond what is reasonable and relevant. The concept ensures that the auditor maintains professional judgment and adheres to auditing standards that seek to provide a level of assurance regarding the financial statements. The other options do not align with best practices in auditing. Collecting minimal evidence could jeopardize the integrity of the audit, focusing only on necessary evidence could lead to missing crucial information, and obtaining all available evidence without considering relevance could create inefficiencies and lead to unnecessary evaluation of irrelevant data. This could further complicate