If an accountant prepares financial statements, what must they issue according to the standards?

When an accountant prepares financial statements without conducting an audit, they must issue a disclaimer stating that no assurance is provided. This is particularly applicable when the accountant is compiling the financial statements, as a compilation involves presenting financial information without assurance about its accuracy or completeness.

By issuing a disclaimer, the accountant clearly communicates to the users of the financial statements that they have not performed an audit or review, and therefore do not provide any assurance regarding the financial statements' reliability. This transparency is crucial for users to understand the level of scrutiny applied to the financial statements.

In contrast, a formal audit report would only be issued if the accountant had conducted an audit, which provides a higher level of assurance. A letter of engagement is generally used to outline the terms and scope of the engagement rather than serve as a report on the financial statements. An opinion letter would indicate that an audit has been performed and is not relevant in the context of a compilation without assurance.