Final answer:
Audit evidence that is both relevant and reliable offers greater assurance to audited accounts. Consideration of the intended audience can affect evidence reliability. The source, purpose, and context are critical to assess evidence reliability.
Step-by-step explanation:
Audit evidence that is deemed by the auditor to be both relevant and reliable serves to lend greater assurance to the accounts being audited. When evidence is both relevant and reliable, it means that it is pertinent to the audit objectives and can be trusted to be accurate, complete, and unbiased, thus strengthening the auditor’s conclusions about the financial statements. The intended audience of audit reports, which might be a single person, a small group, or a large audience, can affect the reliability of the document since the preparer of the document may have particular intentions or biases that could alter the information presented based on who is expected to read it. Ensuring the reliability of documentation involves assessing the source, the document’s purpose, and the context in which it was created.