The auditor's opinion gives a general indication as to the quality of a financial report. A qualified opinion expressed by the auditor gives a serious signal of the financial condition of a company for its investors and creditors. Appropriate decisions such as filing for bankruptcy can be made on its basis.

The article presents the results of examination of relations between the financial standing of a company and the auditor's opinion. Some econometric models known from the literature are presented, which describe such a relationship.

The authors describe the interrelation between the type of opinion and financial ratios based on the data supplied by the companies quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the period from 1998 to 2000 by applying micro-econometric models. The choice of the variables describing the type of opinion Y (Y = 1 for unqualified opinions, Y = 0 for qualified opinions) was guided by the coincidence principle and the modified interrelationship matrix (the equivalent of the correlation matrix).

The results of the research indicate that a qualified opinion is closely related to the financial condition of a company, i.e. an unfavourable level of financial ratios, including financial problems and difficulties in meeting payment obligations. Furthermore, privatised companies and companies which pay out dividends are more likely to receive unqualified opinions from their auditors.