clean opinion

Clean opinion

An auditor's opinion reflecting an unqualified acceptance of a company's financial statements.

Accountant's Opinion

An auditor's statement that he/she has reviewed the financial statements of a company and believes that they are accurate, complete, and in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Most of the time, a publicly-traded company's annual report contains an accountant's opinion; a report without one can be a matter of concern to investors. Instead of an accountant's opinion, the auditor may issue a qualified opinion, stating that the auditor is unable to render a full opinion about a company's finances, or a portion thereof, because the company's accounting does not meet the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or because the information was for some reason incomplete. An accountant's opinion is also called an auditor's report, a clean opinion, or simply an opinion.

clean opinion

The opinion of a firm's auditors that its financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A clean opinion does not necessarily mean that the firm is financially strong or that its future is favorable, since even financially weak firms generally receive clean opinions. Also called standard opinion, unqualified opinion. Compare adverse opinion, disclaimer of opinion, qualified opinion. See also subject to opinion.