By Indeed Editorial Team Show
Published April 26, 2021 An audit assesses the level of control risk, inherent risk and accuracy in financial records. Most audits include some form of substantive testing, which checks for errors and material misstatements. These substantive auditing methods review, test and analyze a company's financial records. In this article, we discuss what substantive testing is, what happens when substantive testing finds an error, who does substantive testing, how substantive testing works, list some examples of substantive testing and answer frequently asked questions about substantive testing. What is substantive testing?Substantive testing is an auditing technique that checks for any errors or material misstatements in a company's accounts, financial statements or supporting documents. When a company claims that their financial records are accurate, complete and valid, substantive testing supports this claim as evidence that there are no errors. This traditional auditing method also helps an auditor to form an overall opinion about the company's financial statements. Substantive testing includes a wide variety of different auditing procedures and tests that an auditor can use depending on the situation. Related: Audit: Definition, Types and Benefits Who does substantive testing?Either a company's internal audit staff or hired external auditors can conduct substantive testing for a company. Using the company's internal audit staff may provide confirmation for whether their internal record systems are performing correctly. If the internal record systems are not performing properly, the internal audit staff can improve the system or eliminate the problem, so the company performs better in the next audit. Internal auditors typically conduct substantive testing at regular intervals throughout the year. External auditors often get hired to conduct substantive testing once a year, usually at the end of the year. Related: Learn About Being an Internal Auditor How do substantive tests work?Here are the steps for how substantive auditing works: 1. A company makes assertionsA company's management team makes implicit or explicit claims about their financial situation, and these auditing assertions get presented to an auditor. There are five general categories of assertions that companies make during audits, which are:
2. The auditor creates a planThe auditor creates a structured audit plan for the company based on the assertions. The auditor identifies which auditing processes, including substantive tests, will best determine any errors or misstatements in the assertions. Categories of auditing processes that auditors can choose include analytical procedures, inquiry and confirmation, inspection, observation and recalculation. For example, to evaluate fixed assets, an auditor could observe a procedure and then analyze the paper records for accuracy. There are three general activities that an auditor includes in their audit plan for substantive testing, which are:
3. An auditor shares audit results with a companyThe auditor writes an official report listing any errors or material misstatements that the audit found, shares the report with management and requests further audit testing if it's warranted. The auditor also provides their overall opinion about the company's financial statements. Related: Auditing Skills: Definition and Examples What happens when substantive testing finds an error?If an auditor finds any errors in a company's financial statements or the supporting documents, the auditor may require the company to do further audit testing. The auditor writes a management letter with a summary of the errors they found and shares the letter with the company and the audit committee. Usually, there are only errors or misstatements if:
Related: Guide To Operational Auditing: Definition, Process, Advantages and Disadvantages Examples of substantive testingEach substantive procedure should have enough documentation that it allows for collection, review and repetition. The documentation should be thorough enough that more than one auditor can independently test for accuracy and come to the same conclusion. Here is a list of common substantive auditing procedures and tests that auditors do:
Related: 15 Types of Audits Substantive testing FAQsHere are some frequently asked questions about substantive testing: Does substantive testing take a long time?Depending on the type and size of the business, substantive testing can be a large and time-consuming process. How effective is substantive testing?There is a component of human bias or human error with substantive testing, including a risk of accidental oversight or accidentally missing a material misstatement. However, substantive testing can be more effective when done in conjunction with other approaches. Auditors can also increase effectiveness by using a larger sample size, changing test timing or testing over a larger period of time. How are substantive tests designed?Based on the assertion, an auditor determines the nature, extent and timing of the tests to make sure they meet an acceptable level of risk detection. Here is more information about the nature, extent and timing of substantive tests:
What is substantive procedures in auditing?Substantive procedures in auditing are processes or methods that auditors use in order to find or prevent miscalculations in financial records. Substantive procedures often provide a record of some financial activity that alerts professionals that the activity is happening and documents it for further review.
How substantive audit procedures are performed by the auditor in an audit of financial statements?Thus, substantive procedures are performed by an auditor to detect whether there are any material misstatements in accounting transactions. Substantive procedures include the following general categories of activity: Testing classes of transactions, account balances, and disclosures.
When planning substantive audit procedures What should the auditor do?The auditor should perform substantive procedures for each relevant assertion of each significant account and disclosure, regardless of the assessed level of control risk. 37. As the assessed risk of material misstatement increases, the evidence from substantive procedures that the auditor should obtain also increases.
When analytical procedures are performed during substantive testing they are typically?analytical procedures performed during substantive testing are generally more focused and more extensive than those done as part of planning. You just studied 10 terms!
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