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The purpose of this study is to propose a framework for the evaluation of the perceived value internal audit functions add to their organisations. The framework is based on service quality measurement principles, specifically SERVPERF, which is applied to internal auditing.

Insights obtained from the literature on internal auditing and service quality disciplines were synthesised to identify and structure value-adding attributes of internal auditing. A thematic analysis of published profiles (by Protiviti) of various organisations’ internal audit functions were analysed and evaluated against those attributes identified in the literature to formulate an evaluation framework based on service quality measurement principles.

The identified value-adding attributes were categorised according to the dimensions of the SERVPERF service quality measurement instrument to formulate a framework for evaluation of the value added by internal audit functions. It was found that the SERVPERF dimensions appear to be relevant to internal auditing. The SERVPERF instrument was therefore adapted to evaluate the value added by internal auditing as a service.

This paper contributes to both the theory and practice of internal auditing by proposing formal dimensions of a value-adding internal audit service which can then serve as a reference point from which to evaluate the value added to an organisation. The framework can serve as a starting point for internal audit functions to develop their service offering and/or form the foundation of stakeholder satisfaction surveys.

The study contributes to the literature by applying service quality principles to internal auditing. A holistic framework that can be used for the evaluation of the value added by internal audit functions based on stakeholder perceptions is proposed. The framework juxtaposes attributes of value-adding internal auditing with recognised service quality performance measures. The notion of value added is investigated to better understand the concept in the context of internal auditing services.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the level of attributes of the internal audit function relates to the effectiveness of internal audit services in local government authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania.

Data have been collected through a survey whereby 510 respondents from LGAs in Tanzania through their Heads of Internal Audit Functions, Internal Auditors and Chairpersons of Audit Committees respond to the questionnaire. The data were subjected to principal component analysis and exploratory factor analysis to reduce the set of items and to provide continuous scores for use in multiple regression analyses.

The findings reveal that audit quality; organization setting and auditee attributes have a significant positive influence on the effectiveness of internal audit services in LGAs in Tanzania.

The study covered only LGAs in Tanzania. Future research in this field should address the gaps identified in the study.

This paper highlights areas that need management attention on the improvement of the effectiveness of internal audit units.

This paper contributes to the literature of both internal auditing and management studies by linking the level of attributes of internal audit function which are audit quality, organization setting, auditee attributes and effectiveness of internal audit services in Tanzania.

The purpose of this paper is to draw inferences – from the results of an Ethiopian public sector corporation (for‐profit) case study – on how the attributes of a value‐adding internal audit department would vary among organisations.

The case study strategy is employed. The internal audit function of a public sector corporation was examined using an analytical framework derived from the literature. Research evidence was gathered distributing questionnaires to managers and internal auditors, conducting a semi‐structured interview with the internal audit department manager, and reviewing documents.

The results highlight that traditional/compliance audit is dominant in the organisation studied as contrasted with value‐added auditing. The paper concludes that goals and strategies pursued and the level of risk faced by organisations to which internal audit provides service, appear to shape the attributes of a value‐adding internal audit department. The study also demonstrates that the quality of strategic planning for, and marketing of, internal audit would influence the extent to which an appropriate value‐added profile is attained in a particular context.

Since a single unit of analysis is examined, universal generalisability of the findings cannot be claimed. Also, the research design assumed that the unit of analysis investigated falls within the scope of internal audit departments considered in the literature that served as a basis to develop the analytical framework and data collection instruments.

The paper is expected to inspire conclusive follow‐on research on the role of internal audit in Ethiopia, or other countries with similar settings.

The purpose of this paper is to examine, from the agency perspective, the influence of internal audit and audit committee attributes, as well as risk management and internal control systems, on the implementation of risk-based auditing among public-listed companies in Malaysia.

A questionnaire survey was distributed to the in-house internal audit function in approximately 620 public-listed companies. Consequently, data from 117 heads of the internal audit function was collected and analyzed.

The findings indicate that “audit committee review and concern” and “risk management system” are significantly and positively related to the implementation of risk-based auditing. Most importantly, the results indicate the importance of audit committee inputs and concerns in reviewing internal audit activities. Empirically, the findings also suggest that a more formalized risk environment would foster the existence of a strong risk-aware culture and hence provides a strong foundation for internal audit to implement risk-based auditing. However, internal audit experience, size of internal audit function, audit committee qualifications, and internal control system are not found to be significant predictors of the presence of risk-based auditing.

This study examined only risk-based auditing practices in the in-house internal audit function of public-listed companies; hence, the findings cannot be generalized to all Malaysian-listed companies that outsource or co-source their internal audit activities.

An effective internal monitoring mechanism and better quality of internal audit work will minimize potential risks that prevent the achievement of company objectives, reduce propensity to falsify financial information, and improve financial reporting quality.

This study contributes evidence concerning the relationship between internal monitoring mechanisms and the implementation of risk-based auditing among in-house internal audit activity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and characteristics of internal audit function in Egyptian listed firms and assess its ability to fulfill its role in corporate governance.

The study has been carried out through a questionnaire survey that aims to explore the internal audit function in Egyptian listed firms from four main aspects: insourcing or outsourcing arrangements of the internal audit function; organizational setting; activities; and interaction with external auditors.

The findings of the study reveal that a large proportion of Egyptian listed firms have internal audit function, but internal audit function in these firms is less matured. Internal audit function has low levels of organizational independence, management support, and qualification of internal audit staff. Also, the results reveal that internal audit function is still focused on financial audit and internal controls compliance and has not yet moved towards the expanded new role explained in Institute of Internal Auditors's new definition. Finally, the results indicate that there is a weak level of interaction between internal and external auditors in Egypt. These results suggest that internal audit function in Egyptian listed firms, in its current status, faces many difficulties that affect negatively its effectiveness in corporate governance.

The findings of the study create doubt about internal audit's role as a corporate governance mechanism in Egyptian firms and, therefore, indicate that extensive efforts should be made to enhancing the internal audit profession in Egypt. The results of the study should be considered by regulators in Egypt in order to begin the necessary actions for legally pending the Egypt Code of Corporate Governance issued in October 2005 and in order to begin the necessary actions for developing the internal audit profession. However, owing to relatively small sample size, these finding should be interpreted with caution.

This paper contributes to the understandings of the nature and characteristics of internal audit function by empirically exploring the nature and characteristics of internal audit function in Egypt, as an emerging market.

This study aims to examine the contribution of audit committee effectiveness (ACE), internal audit function (IAF) and firm-specific attributes to internet financial reporting (IFR). It also seeks to understand which ACE and IAF attributes contribute to variances in IFR.

Data are collected through a questionnaire survey of 40 financial services firms.

The analysis shows that ACE and IAF significantly contribute to positive variances in IFR. It also shows that among the firm-specific attributes, only capital structure significantly contributes to positive variances in IFR. Audit committee meetings and authority contribute significantly to positive variances in IFR unlike audit committee expertise and independence. In terms of the IAF attributes, the risk management role and the regulatory compliance role contribute significantly to positive variances in IFR as compared to the governance processes role and evaluation of the internal control role.

This study enhances our understanding of the relationship between ACE, IAF, firm-specific attributes and IFR in an environment where IFR is not mandated and where corporate governance practices are very much in infancy. This is especially so given that for the first time, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the contribution made by ACE, IAF and firm-specific attributes in IFR using evidence from an African developing country (Uganda) is now documented in a single study.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the compliance of Saudi shareholding companies with the requirements of corporate governance issued by the Board of Capital Market Authority in the Kingdom and their impact on earnings management.

A questionnaire was used to collect data about the compliance of the Saudi shareholding companies with corporate governance requirements and discretionary accruals (DAs) were calculated from the financial statements of these companies using the modified Jones model, then multiple regression was used to test the relationship between the variables.

The results of the study revealed that there was no statistically significant linear dependence of the mean of DAs on corporate governance. Additionally, no statistically significant effect for internal audit, audit committee and board of directors on earnings management was detected. However, the results revealed that there was a slight negative effect for internal audit scope of work and independence and audit committee independence on DAs.

This research paper is applied on Saudi Arabia, a Middle East country with specific characteristics, that is, a specific context, and, therefore, the results must be interpreted within this context

Regulators of Saudi corporations may need to reassess the effectiveness of corporate governance requirements issued by the Capital Market Authority and the actual implementation of these requirements. Researchers also may need further investigation of this phenomenon within its context.

The results of the study are very important to the Saudi society because they put a big question mark on the relevance of corporate governance of the Saudi shareholding companies

The paper provides new evidence about the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on earnings management in a Middle East environment, which may suggest that there is a need to expand this study using other methodologies to delve into the depths and understand this phenomenon within its context.

This study aims to examine the role of audit committee attributes in non-financial information releases, with a focus on intellectual capital (IC) disclosures, following significant policy changes, mandating the audit committee function in Malaysia. The study argues that, given the changing informational needs of stakeholders and the ongoing discussion on integrated reporting, the role of the audit committee should extend to ensuring the overall quality of corporate reporting.

The study draws evidence from a sample of leading Malaysian companies based on their market capitalisation over a three-year period (2008-2010), a period subsequent to the recent policy changes. The extent and quality of IC information, as a surrogate of non-financial information, was measured and regressed against several audit committee attributes, such as audit committee size, independence, financial expertise and meetings, controlling the overall governance and firm-specific variables.

The findings show a strong positive role of the audit committee function in the overall amount of IC information as well as all three subcomponents of IC information (internal, external and human capital). The results are robust to controls for the overall governance and firm-specific attributes as well as different measures of IC information.

The results suggest that the role of the audit committee function extends to non-financial information communication such as IC. Policymakers in Malaysia should, therefore, build on the recent regulatory changes and encourage audit committees to ensure that the overall quality of corporate reporting processes include social, environmental, intellectual as well as financial capital of a firm.

This study considers the role of the audit committee in the wider corporate reporting process – drawing attention to its potential role in the espoused integrated business reporting. It also challenges the taken-for-granted assumption that restricts the role of the audit committee function to the traditional financial reporting process.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the audit committee (AC) independence, financial expertise, internal audit function, audit quality and ownership concentration on earnings quality (EQ) and, consequently, ascertain whether the AC’s independence and financial expertise has a moderating effect on the relationship between internal audit function and EQ.

The study sample is 508 firms listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) for the years 2009 to 2012. EQ was measured using two modified Jones models of discretionary accruals.

The findings reveal that the independence of AC and investment in internal audit function, as well as the Big4 audit firm, are related to greater EQ. Ownership concentration is found to be associated with lower EQ. The study provides evidence that AC’s independence moderates the relationship between internal audit function (investment in and sourcing arrangements of internal audit function) and EQ. It also shows that AC’s financial expertise moderates the relationship between sourcing arrangements of internal audit function and EQ.

This study extends the prior related literature by examining the AC’s independence and financial expertise as moderating variables on the relationship between internal audit function and EQ.

Policymakers might use the findings regarding EQ in relation to governance practices, to recognize the important roles played by the AC’s independence and financial expertise on the effectiveness of internal audit function with EQ.

This study uses the agency theory and resource dependence theory to provide empirical evidence on the impact of internal audit function and AC on EQ in the ownership concentration environment.

Outlines the nature of audit committees in UK companies including the interaction between the audit committee and the internal audit function. Suggests that audit committees are not a panacea for deficiencies in corporate governance.