SRE 2400 requires the practitioner to obtain limited assurance on historical financial statements primarily through inquiry of management and the application of analytical procedures, supplemented by other procedures only where something identified needs further work — a deliberately narrower evidence base than an audit, which is why the review's conclusion is expressed as negative assurance ("nothing has come to our attention") rather than a positive opinion that the statements give a true and fair view.
Review vs audit — what actually changes
| Aspect | Audit (SAs) | Review (SRE 2400) |
|---|---|---|
| Assurance level | Reasonable assurance | Limited assurance |
| Primary procedures | Risk assessment, test of controls, substantive testing including external confirmation and inspection | Inquiry of management and analytical procedures |
| Conclusion wording | Positive opinion — "give a true and fair view" | Negative assurance — "nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe..." |
| Understanding of internal control required | Detailed understanding, including control activities relevant to identified risks | A general understanding of the entity and its environment, including its accounting system, sufficient to identify areas where material misstatement is likely |
What the practitioner still has to do
- 01Obtain an understanding of the entity and its environmentIncluding its accounting principles and practices, enough to design meaningful inquiries and analytical procedures, even though it's a lower bar than the SA 315 understanding required for an audit.
- 02Perform inquiry and analytical procedures across all material itemsInquire into significant accounting estimates, related party transactions, subsequent events and going concern — these are specifically called out, not left to discretion.
- 03Follow up unexpected resultsIf inquiry or analytics turns up something inconsistent with expectations, extend procedures — SRE 2400 does not allow stopping at the initial inquiry if the answer doesn't add up.
- 04Obtain a written representation letterManagement representations are still required, covering responsibility for the financial statements and that all relevant information has been made available.
A review conclusion cannot be issued on the basis of audit-level procedures performed only partially — if, during a review, the practitioner becomes aware of a matter that leads them to believe the statements may be materially misstated, the engagement requires further work, and if that work still leaves the matter unresolved, the review report has to be qualified or a conclusion disclaimed, the same as an audit would modify its opinion.
This is practical guidance written for audit teams, not an authoritative statement of any standard or statute. Standards, forms and timelines change. Check the current text issued by the ICAI and the relevant authority before relying on anything here in an audit file.
Related resources
- Audit workflow & automationSA 700: forming an opinion, and what "true and fair" actually requires concluding onFinishing every planned procedure isn't the same as forming an opinion. SA 700 is the step that happens after the checklist, not instead of it.
- Technology, data & AI in auditSA 520: analytical procedures, and why an unexplained fluctuation isn't a conclusionAn analytical procedure is only as good as the expectation it's measured against. Set the expectation after seeing the result, and the procedure proves nothing.
- Audit workflow & automationThe statutory audit workflow, from evidence collection to sign-offAn engagement end to end: acceptance through to sign-off, with where the time actually goes and the four points at which engagements reliably stall.
- Internal audit & IFCInternal audit vs statutory audit: what actually differsWhere internal audit and statutory audit genuinely differ — objective, reporting line, independence, and timing — and where coordinating the two saves real work on both sides.
Free tools, no signup
Each one reads a file entirely in your browser — or, for two of them, just answers a few questions — and nothing is ever uploaded.
- Purchase register checkDuplicate payments, round-sum amounts, weekend-dated invoices, incomplete records.
- GSTR-2B reconcilerMatches your purchase register against GSTR-2B — missing invoices either side, amount mismatches.
- Bank reconciliation checkerMatches your cash book against a bank statement — what's outstanding on each side.
- Fixed asset register checkDuplicate asset codes, missing location or useful life, negative net book value.
- Payroll red-flag scannerBank accounts shared across employees, and records missing an ID, PAN or salary.
- CARO applicability checkerAnswer a few questions about the company and see which CARO 2020 clauses likely apply.
- MSME payment delay checkerMSME-flagged invoices paid — or still unpaid — beyond the 45-day Section 22 limit.
- Related-party transaction screenerTransactions above a threshold you set with no approval reference, grouped by counterparty.
- Depreciation useful life checkerCompares a useful life in use against the Schedule II, Part C indicative figure.
- Materiality calculatorOverall and performance materiality against PBT, revenue, assets or equity, with reasoning shown.
- Sample size calculatorStatistical sample size for a test of controls or a substantive test of detail.