I quote 'The formal pre-flight acceptance in the Aircraft Technical Log by the designated aircraft commander that both the aircraft and the Aircraft Technical Log have been inspected and found to be, respectively, fit for flight and in order.' from
Captain's Aircraft Acceptance - SKYbrary Aviation Safety.
As Groucho found these words are not written lightly. At the end of this definition are the words ' It is evident from the above that the first flight of the day and/or the first flight to be undertaken by a new aircraft commander are likely to require more activity prior to the acceptance signature.'.
That seems reasonable to me.
Wiggy's concern about the level of detailed inspection carried out before signing is belittling the role of the commander. Responsibility is about being sure, and not complacent. You do not depart before checking that the departure and route information is correctly entered and set up, for example, even though the company has provided the aircraft with that information. Why? Because mistakes can be made. On first issue or amendment of routing data, a new route, a new destination you will be particularly careful. Over the years how many static ports have been found to have masking tape over them during a walk-round? A walk round is a means of reasonably ascertaining that the aircraft is fit to do what is intended, opening and shutting some hatches may well be part of that task. If it all looks good, based on your experience and knowledge of the type, and knowledge of aviation and what can go wrong, then as a commander you have reasonably ascertained that the aircraft is fit ...etc. First flight, especially after someone has interfered with the aircraft's documented airworthiness, is a time to be especially vigilant. A walk round in these conditions, by the person with final responsibility to make sure that the holes are not lined up, may not be something to be done by others without that experience.