Importance of Applying Statistical Sampling to Increase Confidence in Financial Statements

Abstract

Background: Sampling is an important tool considered viable and indispensable for the execution of auditing procedures, since they provide scientific evidence about the universe as a whole and can be used in all types of auditing, becoming tools of great interest, which is why we chose this study. The present study aims to analyze the importance of the application of statistical sampling in increasing the confidence of the financial statements. Methods: This was a descriptive, quantitative bibliographic study of secondary data that has as a source of research filtering in the search sites Wiley Online Library, Science Direct, American Accounting Association and Google Scholar, using as descriptors: financial audit, statistical sampling, audit sampling, financial demonstrations and accounting. Results: Of the 40 articles analyzed, 30% are from the Asian region, 28% from North America, 18% from Europe, 15% from Latin America and 10% from Africa. Convenience sampling was the most predominant with 57.5%. All articles published by African authors used sampling for convenience. Statistical sampling was more prevalent in North American and European articles. The Chi-Square test shows the lack of a provenance relationship between the preference for the type of sampling and the region. Conclusions: The use of statistical sampling does not relegate the auditor’s judgment to the background but it allows the risk of sampling to be measured. Through statistical tools, the auditor can specify the audit risk he or she wants to run, and the sample size is a reflection of risk.