opinion shopping

Opinion Shopping

A company's action of searching for an auditor who will give a positive opinion of the company's accounting practices (even though they might not deserve it).

Notes:

As you can imagine, this is highly illegal.

See also: Audit, Auditor's Report, GAAP, Independent Auditor, Internal Audit

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Opinion shopping

Attempts by a corporation to attain reporting objectives by following questionable accounting principles, with the help of an auditor willing to sanction the practices. Prohibited by the SEC.

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opinion shopping

The search for an accounting firm that will provide the desired opinion for a financial statement. Firms sometimes opinion shop when their current auditors consider their accounting practices questionable or unacceptable. Investors should spend extra time investigating firms that have recently changed auditors.