A complied financial statement states that the account balances presented are those provided by management. The auditor takes no responsibility for any of the numbers or for the adequacy of the footnotes or other disclosures.

An auditor's review of financial statements includes procedures that are not as comprehensive as a complete audit. A review report indicates that the testing performed is less than that of a full audit and that only analytical review procedures were applied. Corroborating evidence, including confirmations, is not part of the review procedures. A review provides only limited assurances that the financial statements are complete.

The most comprehensive audit includes procedures that test the organization's compliance with generally accepted accounting principles. An audit includes an opinion, a statement of financial position, a statement of activities, a statement of cash flows, footnotes, and sometimes a supplementary schedule reporting results by natural accounts as well as by functional areas.