THE IMPORTANCE OF SUBSTANTIVE PROCEDURES IN THE FINANCIAL AUDIT PROCCESS

Abstract

Financial audit plays a key role in ensuring the transparency and reliability of financial statements through a rigorous and structured process that mobilizes various substantive procedures. The objective of this thesis is to identify and analyze the substantive procedures implemented by the EY audit team as part of the process of certifying the financial statements of a company, with a particular focus on the revenue section. To achieve this, we adopted a mixed methodology, combining a quantitative approach (financial ratio calculations, trend analysis) and a qualitative approach (study of applied procedures, observation of professional judgment). This approach allowed for a detailed description of the audit process steps, with numerical treatments illustrating both substantive analytical procedures and tests of details, which then enabled a comparison between these two types of procedures. Thanks to our field immersion, we were able to identify the best practices implemented by EY, while highlighting areas for improvement, particularly through the gradual integration of artificial intelligence in the execution of substantive procedures.