EY Helix

What EY can do for you

Analytics is transforming audit. Critically, the use of analytics at EY is guided by one principle: it is not about tools looking for issues, but about our auditors considering what the analyzed data means and assessing its implication to the audit.

We take an analytics-driven approach to audit that allows us to provide better-quality, deeper insights and more client-relevant audits, as well as exercise a higher level of professional skepticism.

Following EY Helix’s launch, there are now more than 70,000 instances of our analytics being used across the globe. EY Helix gives our teams the ability to analyze larger volumes of audit-relevant data to derive insights and a more in-depth understanding of EY clients’ financial close and business operations.

Built to scale to meet the needs of all of EY clients, EY Helix is an integral element of our audits. It is our global analytics platform, which includes a suite of data capture and analytics tools that dramatically increase not only the depth and breadth of captured data, but also the value of insight derived from it. The EY Helix library of analyzers supports the audit from risk assessment to execution, addressing a business’ entire operating cycle.

For example, audit teams can use analytics to look at sales invoicing activity throughout the year, the impact of credit memos and, ultimately, how the invoices are settled.

Using these allows us to obtain a better understanding of both revenue and trade receivables to help focus our audit procedures. We can also glean insights about EY clients’ business or areas for process improvements that we can share. In addition, the EY Helix library contains all of our data analytics from around the globe, covering different industries and audit areas.

Three key differentiators that make EY Helix a vital tool in improving audit quality:

• It can handle data of virtually any size.
  
  
• It is available to all of our teams across the world.
  
  
• The audit programs embed the analytic audit approach into our methodology.

Key analyzers in EY Helix include:

• GL Analyzer: Examines and analyzes general ledger (GL) journals of any data size to enhance audit planning and scoping, understanding of the business and audit performance
  
  
• Group Scope Analyzer: Helps audit teams present and organize financial data to inform audit scope strategy
  
  
• Inventory Analyzer: Provides analysis to better understand inventory and aid audit efficiency
  
  
• Trade Payables Analyzer: Auditing trade payables and related expenses
  
  
• Revenue and Trade Receivables Analyzer: Collects and analyzes revenue and receivables activity to perform detailed analysis of key aspects of the order-to-cash cycle.
  
  
• Mortgage Analyzer: Provides the ability to assess the risk profile of a client’s mortgage portfolio by assigning thresholds and weights to risk factors

By using EY Helix, our auditors can provide a truly analytics-driven audit. They can identify more easily where to focus their time and concentrate on auditing rather than the collection of data. With information at their fingertips, our auditors’ inquisitiveness and skepticism are enhanced.

Summary of benefits:

• Greater confidence in financial reporting by revealing hidden patterns and trends in EY clients’ financial data
  
  
• A fuller picture of the business activities presented through analysis of larger populations of audit-relevant data to help identify the risks that matter
  
  
• Clear identification of trends and anomalies in the business processes and controls to help direct our investigative effort in the right areas
  
  
• Relevant feedback and insights provided during the audit to help EY clients improve their business processes and controls
  
  
• Efficiencies for EY clients thanks to our globally integrated data capture and extraction tools