Search results

Applying internal quality audit processes and procedures into higher education institutions has been under active consideration since the days of the former Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC) and the ideas have been much discussed within the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and by other funding agencies. There have, however, been few role models. Consequently, Swansea Institute decided to promote and implement its own internal system. This paper provides a case study description and analysis of this process including a consideration of the planning involved, institutional audit practice, selection and training of the auditors, the findings from the first six audits and finally, the review and evaluative outcomes along with a progress update.

We all spend time and money on staff development. It is the “new frontier” of the 1990s. William Edwards Deming of Total Quality Management fame speaks constantly to the need to have a highly motivated and trained work force. Library literature is replete with articles on training, improving staff morale, and becoming more professional.

The purpose of this study was to determine current practices for two salient aspects of the audits1 of listed South African long‐term insurers by empirically analysing prevailing practices. First, current practices for the composition of the audit teams responsible for these audits are determined. Thereafter current practice is determined for the proportion of audit time spent by the different specialists on audit teams on the audit of the high‐risk components of policy liabilities and the related earnings. When allocating audit staff and establishing continuing professional development plans for staff the auditors of all listed and unlisted South African long‐term insurers could use the findings of the study as benchmarks.

In recent decades, managerial desire to use internal audit services to promote well-controlled organizational processes has significantly increased in the public sector. Yet, there is rare information on how internal audits may effectively be implemented in the public sector. The present research aims to design a comprehensive internal audit effectiveness model for the public sector.

This research is an applied mixed-methods (qualitative–quantitative) and descriptive survey study. The research population in both qualitative and quantitative sections included all internal and external audit managers and staff of Iraqi public organizations. The study sample of the qualitative section included 28 audit managers and staff selected using purposive sampling, and the study sample of the quantitative section included 399 individuals selected using convenience sampling. The data collection instruments in the qualitative and quantitative sections included semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, respectively. Data analysis was carried out using thematic analysis in Atlas.ti software in the qualitative section. Quantitative analysis and model validation were also performed using path analysis and structural equation modeling in Smart-PLS software in the quantitative section.

The results of the qualitative section led to the identification of 38 effectiveness factors among seven main categories, which were finally presented in the form of a comprehensive model. The main categories included the communication between internal and external auditors, granting independence and authority to internal auditors, providing specialized human resources, providing technological resources, developing management support, strengthening organizational culture and developing audit plans. In the qualitative section, the model was validated and confirmed. Quantitative results further showed that the compilation of audit plans and the development of management support were the most important factors.

The present study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive framework on internal audit with an emphasis on resource-based theory and reducing the research gap in the field of agents influencing internal audit efficacy in the public sector of developing countries. Further, the study provides insights into an under-studied developing country, Iraq.

In 2002, The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) observed the 25th anniversary of the publication of its first Systems, Auditability, & Control (SAC) study. This paper reviews the development of the SAC projects and their impact on Information Systems (IS) auditing in particular. Three different research methodologies were used for collecting the data for this research. First, a rigorous literature review was conducted. Second, an oral‐history methodology was used to collect data via interviews. Third, notes and minutes from many early committee meetings of IIA, including the SAC Committee, were studied. The early years (1954‐1977) saw a dearth of related literature. Thus individual accountants and auditors found it difficult to acquire or gather information on emerging issues. The Systems, Auditability, & Control (SAC) study published in 1977 was one of the major attempts to codify IS auditing knowledge. This study has been followed up by three other SAC projects in 1991, 1994, and 2001. These SAC projects have provided some of the best guidance for IS auditors over these last 25 years. From the beginning of IS auditing, there has been a continued acceleration of technology. In particular, the audit process has been impacted by the proliferation of microcomputers.

The title of this Conference Staff motivation and morale in a static situation is all wrong. We are not in a static situation. Even if numbers and resources remain static — which is unlikely; they could go up or down, and will almost certainly go up — we shall be in a rapidly‐changing situation. For change is, and ought to be, of the essence of education. Part of the trouble is that teachers in HE and FE are not prepared to change fast enough or radically enough. Part of the trouble also is that expectations built up on the back of years of rapid growth and improvement cannot be met, simply because all normal growth has to be exponential anyway.

A study was done to document the standards that should be adhered to by library and information professionals in Zimbabwe to assure quality in service provision in order to meet the sustainable development goals. A literature review and web content analysis were done to unpack the various standards that all types of libraries should consider from library buildings, service provision, qualifications and accreditation of library and information science schools and professionals, and assessing the impact of libraries in the communities that they are serving. The findings review that there are international and national standards from various governing bodies that should be considered in library and information service provision. The author recommends the implementation of these standards in all the libraries to assure quality in library and information service provision.

One of the three areas to which internal auditing is targeted is effectiveness. Yet we do not often determine whether the internal auditing function is itself operating effectively. We must identify the basic objective of internal auditing, define the goals to be accomplished, establish measures relative to achieving those goals, and finally evaluate the overall internal auditing process. We must separate the usual measures of output from the overall measures of outcome to determine the cost effectiveness and operational improvement aspects of the internal audit process. The former, the time‐honored internal audit output measures must be supplanted by internal audit effectiveness achievements.

This article will explain why training is so important to the success of internal audit. Several new initiatives will be outlined covering the IIA’s new internal audit competencies, the NVQ scheme, learning and the so called “expert”, along with a newly developed three circles model. The material is intended to allow audit management to assess where its audit shop stands in terms of its current strategy. The next step is to carry out a formal assessment of the staff development strategy by using the enclosed checklist. Keeping up to date is essential since no audit shop can afford to be left behind. We are concerned with developing your staff. The top and bottom line revolves around this all‐important concept. The next step is to establish whether you are in a position to live up to your contention. Test your position – if you mean to do more than merely pay lip service to staff development, you might consider the material in this article and work out how much you are already doing and how much further you may need to go.

Audit support staff comprise a new profession in the National Health Service. They have a key role in enhancing the work of audit groups in both primary and secondary care. However, arrangements for their formal training have not yet been established. This study describes how a training needs analysis was undertaken with audit support staff in one health region in England and reports the construction and evaluation of the first course designed explicitly for this group of staff. Well trained audit support staff have an important role in making clinical audit effective. Training should be based on information about their training needs, and opportunities should be provided for their continued professional development.