Internal Audit Complimenting work of management (original) (raw)
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Analysis of the Contribution of Internal Auditing in Organizations
Frontiers, 2023
The business society, widely structured in a market economic perspective, demands that the audit function be increasingly mediating in the analysis of certain situations, such as the viability of the company, the reporting of frauds and illegal acts, the evaluation of the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of organizations. The goal of this work is to evaluate how Internal Audit helps firms respond quickly and effectively to External Audit, particularly to the activity of the tax authorities. The research methodology employed in this study integrates three distinct types of investigation: exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory. This comprehensive approach involves a three-phase process, which includes an extensive literature review, data collection from the field through semi-structured interviews, and the subsequent analysis and synthesis of this information into a comprehensive report. It was concluded that the main objective of an audit work is to express an independent opinion about the reliability of the financial statements of a company, in view of the Fundamental Principles of Accounting, defined by legislation and accounting doctrine. The study's findings underscore the critical importance of ethics and social responsibility within the realm of auditing. As the prevailing societal ethos evolves, auditors must adapt to meet the growing demands for transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct. Navigating this dynamic landscape requires auditors to exercise a heightened level of diligence and ethical awareness, reinforcing their pivotal role as guardians of financial integrity and public trust. The absence of ethics that society goes through, as well as the auditor's social responsibility, are relevant points that demand special attention from these professionals.
The internal audit function: Perceptions of internal audit roles, effectiveness and evaluation
Managerial Auditing Journal, 2011
PURPOSE The aim of this exploratory study is to provide insights into the current roles and responsibilities of the internal audit (IA) function and the factors perceived to be necessary to ensure its effectiveness. The current performance evaluation practices of IA are also examined. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Semi-structured interviews were utilised to elicit the perceptions of key corporate governance actors about the evolving role of IA, as well as IA effectiveness, in terms of its design, measurement, and evaluation. FINDINGS The results of the study suggest significant expansion and refocus of the role of IA and perceptions of its effectiveness. However, the findings also suggest that performance evaluation mechanisms of IA have not evolved contemporaneously. The misalignment between the role and evaluation gives rise to difficulty in assessing the extent to which IA functions are meeting stakeholders' expectations. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The findings are useful in informing the deliberations of regulators and standard setters, as well as providing a benchmark for internal auditors and audit committees. The insights are also relevant for external auditors who are required to consider various aspects of corporate governance, including the objectivity and quality of IA. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The use of semi-structured interviews facilitates an in-depth insight and understanding of the perceptions of roles, effectiveness and evaluation of IA and adds depth to the predominantly questionnaire based survey approach of prior studies.
Insights into the effectiveness of internal audit: a multi-method and multi-perspective study
Louvain School of Management Research Institute, Doctoral Thesis
This doctoral dissertation includes five related working papers that provide valuable contributions to the understanding of internal audit (IA) and its effectiveness. Paper 1 is a literature review that uses the perspective of new institutional theory as a framework and acknowledges that IA effectiveness is largely still viewed as a “black box” that is under-explored in academic research. Paper 2 is an explorative work that studies the variables that are theoretically associated with the IA function’s active role in corporate governance. This paper was published in the Journal of Applied Accounting Research (JAAR 2012). Paper 3 is a conceptual essay that discusses the status of IA as a profession and questions why the IA profession has not generally been seen as playing a significant role in the financial crisis, either as part of the problem or as part of the solution. This paper was published in the Managerial Auditing Journal (MAJ 2012). Paper 4 is an empirical survey that clarifies the discriminatory power of characteristics suggested by practitioners and academic research that may indicate IA effectiveness. Paper 5 is a qualitative research paper that breaks new ground in applying role theory (Kahn et al. 1964) in combination with the theory of relational coordination (Gittell 2006) to the research context of IA effectiveness. This dissertation builds on an exhaustive literature review, provides a mix of different methods and perspectives and offers innovative and complementary insights that open the door for further research.
Contemporary Approaches in Internal Audit
Procedia Economics and Finance, 2014
Abstract The object of this paper is to present the role of internal audit in the contemporary life of a company. Internal audit function plays a major role in the enterprise, carrying on control in financial field and all others settled by management, safeguarding the corporate assets and ensuring the security of accurate records. Between internal audit and the prosperity of a company, there is a strong link which leads to increase the value of the company and achieve its objectives. The relevance of internal audit reporting is given also by adapting its function to the changing expectations and its alignment to fraud prevention policies, aside with risk evaluation and improvement of control strategies.
Analele Universităţii Constantin Brâncuşi din Târgu Jiu : Seria Economie, 2015
Over the years, the purpose of internal audit has continued to evolve and expand, managing to successfully transition from its traditional function of monitoring financial statements to the strategic and operational efforts of checking the organization's compliance at all levels. Regarding the future, it is assumed that the internal audit will play an important advisory role, becoming an important catalyst of business development, focusing organizations on emerging risks. This transformation of the whole internal system, consisting in both control and audit, which seeks to promote a risk-centered organizational culture, is in the process of evolution, but it complexity, the conflicts of interest, the little understanding of most companies when it comes to implementing such a system as well as various issues of credibility, limit the pace of development for now. Our belief, however, is that this slow evolution is favorable for the alternative purpose of building the functions of ...
Improving the existing functions of internal audit at organizational level
2012
It’s important to contribute in the literature on the improvement of the existing internal audit functions so as to add value to organizations. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to highlight on improving the existing functions of internal audit in order to provide the expected service required within the organization and thereby improve the standard of such organizations.