Final answer:
The false statement about substantive tests is that they are designed to test controls. Substantive tests aim to detect material misstatements and evaluate the fairness of financial statements, not to assess control effectiveness.
Step-by-step explanation:
In regard to substantive tests, the false statement is that substantive tests are designed to test controls. Substantive tests are actually performed to detect material misstatements within the financial statements and to gather sufficient evidence to evaluate the fairness of statements presented. They do so by directly testing financial transactions, account balances, and disclosures. Substantive tests may indeed be an analytical procedure and are tests of details relating directly to the financial statement accounts.
On the other hand, tests of controls are performed to assess the operating effectiveness of controls in preventing, or detecting and correcting, material misstatements at the assertion level. If controls are not operating effectively, or there are no controls, an auditor will rely more on substantive testing.