What does the auditor seek to obtain when conducting an audit of financial statements according to ISA 200?

When conducting an audit of financial statements in accordance with ISA 200, the auditor aims to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. This level of assurance acknowledges that it's impossible to obtain absolute assurance due to the inherent limitations of an audit, such as the use of sampling and the complexity of transactions.

Reasonable assurance enables auditors to reduce audit risk to an acceptably low level, allowing them to express an opinion on the financial statements. The focus is on material misstatements because these are the misstatements that could influence the economic decisions of users relying on the financial statements. Therefore, the correct answer reflects the auditor's primary goal of ensuring that the financial statements present a true and fair view, without claiming to eliminate all risks associated with potentially undetected misstatements.