Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the understandability of the illustrations provided by the International Federation of Accountants in terms of the structural features of international auditors’ reports with modified opinions. Design/methodology/approach – Measurement of the legibility of reports illustrated by the revised ISA 705 and ISA 706. This paper discusses the compliance level of modified auditors’ reports with the linguistic rules. Findings – It was found that the standardized illustrations of modified reports are not fully understandable by users of financial statements. The illustrations of modified auditors’ reports are not compliant with several linguistic rules. Originality/value – This paper provides new original investigation about the linguistic features of illustrations provided by the ISA 705 and ISA 706. This paper discusses the level of unintelligibility of standardized auditors’ reports and the implications for stakeholders.

Content of audits Understandability Readability and determinants of legibility a b s t r a c tThe independent auditors periodically publish reports that summarize the audit results. These reports reinforce the financial communication and reliability of accounting information. International Standards on Auditing (ISA) determine the content of audit reports and the quality of audit results. Theoretically, the audit standardization must model intelligible and clear reports for readers. Compliance with linguistic principles contributes to the improvement of the structure of audit reports. In practice, the effectiveness of these reports is criticized because users do not understand the audit information. In order to improve the content of audit reports, International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) had revised International Standards on Auditor's report: ISA 700: Forming an opinion and reporting on financial statements. Linguistically, standardized audit reports could be unreadable by many users of financial statements. This article discusses the linguistic problems related to the preparation of reports. This discussion focuses on the audit reports which are illustrated by the International Standards on Auditing. The results show that in the presence of conflicting requirements (auditing standards versus linguistic principles), independent auditors must optimize the presentation of their reports.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the new, revised International Standard on Auditing (Revised ISA700) in terms of the wording characteristics of Tunisian auditors' reports.Design/methodology/approachMeasurement of the compliance of auditors' reports issued by Tunisian auditors with the new revised International Standard on Auditing (Revised ISA700).FindingsIt was found that the audit reports examined are not fully compliant with all the elements enumerated by the new standard issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).Originality/valueThis paper provides new empirical evidence about the level of compliance with the revised ISA700. It discusses the limits on standardisation efforts for national auditors' reports, and the implications for accounting firms and their audit clients.

Timeliness of audit reports is a qualitative feature that enhances the usefulness of audited financial statements. As an emerging country, Tunisia has modernized its accounting legislation to enhance the quality of financial reporting. This legislation encourages independent auditors to optimize the transmission delays of audit reports. The authorities assume that the satisfaction of stakeholders is secured by regulating disclosure of audit reports. Our research analyses the date of issue of Tunisian audit reports and timeliness of audit information for shareholders and all users of financial statements (stakeholders). This paper provides new empirical evidence about the timeliness of audit reports in Tunisia. It holds two dates that influence the needs of users of financial statements: the date of signature of the auditors and the date of publication of the audit reports in the financial bulletin. The same article discusses the variability of the timeliness of audit reports and the factors that explain the delay information.