Q.Which of the following best describes the primary objective of an audit?
(A) To detect fraud in the accounts
(B) To prepare the financial statements of the business
(C) To express an independent opinion on whether the financial statements show a true and fair view
(D) To maintain the day-to-day books of account

An audit's whole purpose centres on one outcome: giving stakeholders confidence in the accounts through an independent opinion, not on any of the specific by-products that happen along the way.

Option (A) describes only a secondary objective — fraud detection is a valuable by-product of an audit, not its main purpose. Option (B) describes accounting, not auditing (the auditor examines accounts already prepared, per Section g's central distinction). Option (D) also describes accounting/bookkeeping. Only option (C) captures the primary objective as defined in Section d.

Every definition of auditing converges on one central idea: an independent, qualified person examines financial statements already prepared by someone else, and on that basis forms a professional opinion about whether those statements present a true and fair view of the entity's financial position and performance. This is the audit's primary objective — the single reason the activity exists.

Everything else an audit achieves — detecting errors, uncovering fraud, verifying that assets and liabilities actually exist and are correctly valued, confirming statutory compliance, and deterring carelessness among staff — happens as a natural consequence of pursuing that primary objective carefully, but none of these is the main reason an audit is conducted. They are classified as secondary objectives precisely because they support, rather than define, the audit's purpose.

Checking each option against this framework:

• (A) "To detect fraud" — a secondary objective, not the primary one.
• (B) "To prepare the financial statements" — this is accounting's job, not auditing's; the auditor examines statements that already exist.
• (C) "To express an independent opinion on true and fair view" — matches the primary objective exactly.
• (D) "To maintain day-to-day books" — again, this is bookkeeping/accounting, a distinct activity from auditing (Section g).

Students very commonly mistake fraud detection for the primary objective of auditing, because it is the most dramatic and memorable outcome of an audit. The syllabus itself is explicit that fraud/error detection is only a secondary objective — always check what an audit exists to DO (form an opinion) versus what it USEFULLY ALSO ACHIEVES (detect fraud, verify assets, etc.) before answering this type of question.