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Examines whether internal auditors and management accountants have different personal ethical philosophies. Also examines the possible presence of intervening variables such as personal (i.e. age, gender, experience, education, professional certification and salary) or environmental factors (i.e. industry and corporate ethical environment). Data were obtained from questionnaires returned by 474 internal auditors (47.4 per cent response rate) and 558 management accountants (37.2 per cent response rate) located in the southeastern United States. The results indicate that significant differences exist between the ethical philosophies of internal auditors and management accountants. Of the other factors tested, only corporate ethical environment was found to be related to the ethical philosophies of the respondents.

Explores the state of the art in internal auditing risk assessment techniques by reviewing professional requirements as stated in Statement of Internal Auditing Standards (SIAS) No. 9 and then examining and discussing currently available risk assessment techniques. Models explored in the study include the traditional risk assessment model and those by Wilson and Randon; Patton, Evans and Lewis; Boritz; and Siers and Blyskal. The results of the study indicate that professional standards are being met by all of the risk assessment techniques examined but none of the techniques is perfect for all users. Indeed, each has at least one flaw which seriously compromises its usefulness. Empirical research comparing predicted areas of high risk with actual areas could be used to determine the robustness of these models.

A domain independent perspective compares international competency studies from The Big 8 White Paper in 1989 to recent studies by the Institute of Management Accountants, Institute of Internal Auditors, International Federation of Accountants, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Educators can use these common and specialized competencies to design accounting curricula to prepare students for entry into auditing careers. Practitioners can also use them to design hiring and evaluation criteria. The job market for accounting graduates is no longer dominated by public accounting. A more generalized skill set may be taught across accounting curriculums that was previously deemed necessary. Also recent international accounting scandals have put the accounting profession under public and regulatory scrutiny. New regulation and auditing standards may regain public trust. The knowledge, skills, and abilities for entry‐level accountants are: communication skills, interpersonal skills, general business knowledge, accounting knowledge, problem‐solving skills, information technology, personal attitudes and capabilities, and computer skills.

Examines the influence which the Institute of Internal Auditors′ Code of Ethics has on its members′ ethical perceptions. Also determines whether this influence is greater than members′ personal moral philosophies (i.e. idealism and relativism), and corporate ethical values. Data for the study were obtained by questionnaires sent to 1,000 members of the Institute of Internal Auditors, located in the Southeastern United States. The results generally indicate that professional values, as operationalized by the members′ use of the code of ethics, influence their perceptions of ethical problems in a positive way. However, no significant linkages were found to exist between the internal auditors′ personal moral philosophies or corporate ethical values and their perceptions of ethical problems.

The purpose of this study is to determine if members of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) use the IMA Code of Ethics in recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas. We accomplish this objective by examining the relationship between the IMA members’ rating of IMA code elements as “possible guiding principles” and IMA members’ ethical perception and judgment. This study also determines the relationships between IMA members’ personal ethical philosophy, corporate ethical values, age, and certification, and IMA members’ ethical perception and judgment. Thus the study uses an atomistic‐deontological approach to ethics as classified by Baker. The results indicate that a statistically significant relationship exists between IMA members’ rating of IMA code elements and IMA members’ ethical perception and judgment. Further, the study found only weak associations among IMA members’ ethical perception and judgment, and personal ethical philosophy, corporate ethical values, age and certification.

This article demonstrates the use of the “Balanced Scorecard” methodology developed by Kaplan and Norton in selecting performance measures for internal auditing departments. It then describes: professional standards and guidance concerning the use of performance measures and benchmarking; the “Balanced Scorecard” methodology; and a comprehensive example. Finally, this article concludes with specific recommendations concerning the use of performance measures.

Reports on a questionnaire survey of US local government auditors conducted to determine the amount of fraud in state and local governments. Concludes that fraud is a significant problem for state and local governments and finds that management is not responding effectively to “red flags” or to the actual frauds when they are discovered; most of the loss in fraud cases is accounted for by misappropriation of funds, other false representation, other fraud, or false invoices. The most effective fraud detection methods include: internal audit review; specific investigation by management; employee notification; internal controls; and accidental discovery. Finds that most of the legal departments of the government entities studied did not have policies and procedures for dealing with employees suspected of fraud.

Presents a method for teaching ethics developed for the Operational Auditing course at Old Dominion University. Outlines the principles on which the course is based. Describes the distinctive method used, which requires students to form groups and prepare videos of ethical scenarios. Concludes with an evaluation of the effectiveness of the course.

This study of audit committee effectiveness, performed in the period immediately preceding the Enron collapse, seeks to determine whether audit committees were beginning to accept more responsibility for corporate governance before such behavior became mandatory.

The period studied was approximately two years prior to the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002 and roughly one year after the Blue Ribbon Committee published its recommendations on audit committee effectiveness. The efforts of 296 audit committees to improve their effectiveness as reported by Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) to the Global Audit Information Network (GAIN) database maintained by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) were investigated.

It was found that audit committees' responsiveness to each of eight effectiveness steps was surprisingly high. For instance, almost all (w99.6 percent) audit committees meet with CAEs. It is recommended that audit committees focus more on big picture/strategic concerns in their discussions with CAEs.

The study's chief limitation is that only companies with internal audit functions were studied and thus the results cannot be generalized to companies without internal audit functions.

This study was the first to utilize the GAIN database and provides specifics about 15 different topics that CAEs might bring to audit committees for discussion. Topics of communication more often focused on specifics such as “significant audit findings” (95.9 percent) and less often dealt with big picture/strategic concerns such as “overall corporate control environment” (68.9 percent).