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This article deals with internal auditors’ use of and compliance with the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, as well as the Practice Advisories, issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). The results reported here form part of a global research project, the 2006 Common Body of Knowledge in Internal Auditing (CBOK) study. The research shows that internal auditors worldwide believe that overall, their organisations comply with the Standards. Reasons for not using the Standards relate to organisational attributes such as management’s perceptions that these do not add value and are too time‐consuming to comply with.

Increased globalization and cross border trade suggest the importance of consistency in internal controls and the internal auditing activities within organizations when doing business with a region's neighbors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are differences in the demographics of internal auditors in the neighboring regions of the USA, Canada, and many Latin American countries, their organizations' compliance with the Institute of Internal Auditors' (IIA) International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards), and the skills and competencies that are most important to perform the profession of internal auditing.

Data were selected from the IIA's 2006 Common Body of Knowledge database created by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation. χ²‐tests or F‐tests were used to determine if there were differences in the responses between internal auditors from the US, Canadian and Latin American respondents.

Although there is less compliance and greater satisfaction with the Standards in participating Latin American countries, the findings indicate remarkable consistency in the USA, Canada, and Latin American countries in their application and compliance with the Standards and the kinds of skills and competencies respondents indicate are important for the practice of internal auditing. Global competition, increased communication and global stakeholder expectations have resulted in increased utilization of internal auditing in the Americas.

Reliability of organizational systems, output and performance must be continually evaluated to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and compliance with entity policies and procedures. One role of the internal auditor is to evaluate this performance using globally accepted Standards, frameworks and procedures. Adding value by making suggestions for system improvements and to provide assurance on the adequacy of system controls to stakeholders at all levels and geographical locations should insure the future of the internal auditing profession.

There has been nothing written about the comparison of the internal auditing profession's usage of the IIA Standards in the USA, Canada, and Latin America. As many organizations are doing business across these borders, reliance on the information provided by their suppliers and customers is important to executives. Systems that are monitored by internal auditors who follow the IIA's Standards should provide more assurance about the reliability of that information. This paper compares the usage of the IIA's Standards by internal auditors in the USA, Canada, and participating Latin American countries.

Via the Institute of Internal Auditors, founded in 1941, the internal auditing profession actively promote the quality of internal auditors and internal audit activities. Since 1999, internal auditing standards have been revised. From 1 January 2002, all internal audit activities/any consultant rendering internal auditing services must undergo quality control, according to the provisions of Attribute Standard 1300. The revised internal auditing standards on quality control in internal audit activities reflect fundamental changes for the internal auditing profession. This article analyses the formal prescriptions and guidelines on quality in internal audit activities contained in the internal auditing standards and related practice advisories.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences in the degree of usage and compliance with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) International Standards for the Professional Practices of Internal Auditing (Standards) by organizations' internal audit activities (IAA) located in the USA and a sample of European countries which have affiliates with the IIA. This paper shows the differences among Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, and the USA with respect to the level of use of the Standards and compliance with the Standards by respondents' IAAs.

Survey results from questionnaires sent to IIA members in September 2006 about various topics relating to internal auditing are summarized in the Common Body of Knowledge 2006 database. These results are compared among Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, and the USA.

This paper shows the differences among Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, and the USA with respect to the level of use of the Standards and compliance with the Standards by respondents' IAAs. There are significant levels of variation in responses by country. For Standards 1300, Quality Assurance and Improvement Program, and 2600, Resolution of Management's Acceptance of Risks, respondents indicate high levels of non‐compliance.

This study compares the status of the use of the IIA Standards in five countries to determine if there is any difference in application in different parts of the world.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and comment on recent enhanced pronouncements on internal auditing.

The paper uses content analysis of five 2012-2013 sources of guidance, set out in the tables of this paper and summarised within the text, together with conceptual interpretations.

Recent pronouncements respond, with considerable consensus, to stakeholder and public concerns and fill a partial vacuum left by The Institute of Internal Auditors' Standards. Principally this is about successfully enhancing the scope of internal audit and internal audit's independence from management.

While the paper is conceptual rather than empirical, it builds on the processes followed by the parties who developed the examples of enhanced guidance reviewed in this paper. Those processes included careful development by leaders in the field, public consultation of preliminary proposals, and final amended guidance based on feedback received.

There are implications for staffing of internal audit functions and the seniority and calibre of chief audit executives.

There has been no other attempt to map these developments. It has been done with a view to identifying possible ways forward for internal auditing, especially those which have a high degree of support and which are still to be incorporated into generally accepted internal auditing.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the internal audit quality was maintained in relation to the rapid growth in Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) membership in South Africa. As The IIA in South Africa (SA) has seen more than double the membership growth (59 per cent) than the IIA (25 per cent) over the period 2006 to 2010, the change in internal audit quality indicators for these two are compared.

The responses from SA respondents and all “Other” respondents are analysed from the 2006 and 2010 Common Body of Knowledge studies on specific questions addressing internal audit quality, to determine whether there is a growth in quality-related indicators and whether the growth is in relation to the membership growth. The chi-square test is used to look for change in response frequencies.

The paper finds that the SA respondents have a greater increase of internal audit quality indicators than “Other” respondents, suggesting that the increase in membership could also result in improved internal audit quality.

This study links the increase in membership with improved internal audit quality. This could assist the IIA in determining the feasibility of developing key indicators of internal audit quality. The IIA-SA will obtain an understanding whether the exceptional growth in membership is in line with the internal audit excellence as prescribed by SA guidance and legislation. Last, individual internal audit activities could benchmark their growth statistics against the SA and “Other” respondents’ growth pattern – both in numbers and quality indicators.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature and extent of internal audit functions’ (IAFs) involvement in environmental, social and governance assurance (ESG) and consulting in Australia. To identify emerging priorities, and the profession’s capacity to respond to these, the paper also explores internal audit practitioners’ perceptions of the current and future importance of these issues and the adequacy of their skills and expertise in meeting the challenges associated with their involvement in these areas.

Data were collected from 100 Chief Audit Executives and internal audit service provider partners through a survey.

Governance issues are a key area of focus for respondents’ assurance and consulting efforts, followed by social and environmental issues, respectively. While governance issues are perceived to be of greatest current importance to IAFs, environmental issues are most commonly expected to increase in importance over the next five years, and are reported to be in greatest need of further development of IAFs’ skills and expertise.

As the corporate landscape and expectations around transparency and accountability increase, the internal audit profession needs to address the current perceived skills gap in their ability to provide assurance and consulting on ESG issues to ensure their continued relevance and ability to meet stakeholders’ needs and expectations in providing effective integrated assurance and in contributing to internal improvements.

This paper provides initial empirical evidence of the nature and extent of internal audit’s involvement in ESG assurance and consulting.

This paper aims to examine the prospect for international investment disputes in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic due to measures implemented by the Australian government to tackle the pandemic.

Doctrinal research. Contains qualitative analysis.

This paper finds that claims based on the protections in the International Investment Agreements (IIAs) signed by Australia are unlikely to succeed and that Australia’s COVID-19 measures can be justified as necessary measures under the general and security exception clauses included in more recent IIAs and under customary international law.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars have written papers apprehending possible claims by international investors against emergency measures adopted by host countries to face the pandemic which might also have damaged the interest of the foreign investors. The existing literature is too vague and general. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that draws some specific conclusions in this regard applicable to the COVID-19 regulatory measures taken by Australia. While the existing literature projects the possibility of such investor claims, this paper argues that at least no such claim would succeed against the COVID-19 measures taken by Australia.

This paper aims to explore internal audit effectiveness through its contribution to corporate governance. Namely, the authors attempt to investigate the impact of internal audit professionalization on internal audit’s contribution to corporate governance.

Using a research framework informed by institutional theory, the authors predict that internal audit’s contribution to corporate governance is associated with factors related to internal audit professionalization. To investigate the arguments, the authors combine data from a survey of 49 listed companies in the Athens Stock Exchange with publicly available information from annual reports.

Empirical results indicate that internal audit professionalization affects internal audit effectiveness, as internal audit’s contribution to corporate governance is improved for organizations where internal audit function complies with internal auditing standards and internal auditors hold professional certifications. The findings also suggest that internal audit’s contribution to corporate governance is shaped by some company-specific characteristics, namely, CEO duality and audit committee quality.

The results have implications for internal auditors who wish to increase the efficiency of their work, corporate governance mechanisms such as the board of directors and the audit committee, which can use the findings of this study to better respond to their responsibilities concerning internal audit and regulators who can also benefit to strengthen areas with substantial impact on internal audit’s contribution to corporate governance.

This paper contributes to the academic discussion on the role of internal audit in corporate governance and complements the work of other researchers in the field of internal audit professionalization. This study tries to fill a gap in the literature on the effect of internal audit professionalization elements on internal audit’s contribution to corporate governance.

Financial crises in the international markets, which have global effects, have increased the importance of internal auditing especially in the banking sector in recent years. Minimizing the negative effects of crises is closely related to the establishment and functioning of an effective internal control system. International internal audit standards (IIAS) issued by the International Internal Audit Standards Boards are internationally applicable standards that contain the basic requirements for the professional implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of internal auditing. In developing countries where the effects of crises are intensely felt, public banks are one of the most important actors of the financial system. An effective internal control structure in public banks and in compliance with international standards is necessary for a strong and fragile financial system. The purpose of this study is to examine the internal audit activities in public banks in terms of compliance with international standards. In this study conducted at one of the leading state-owned bank in Turkey, the bank’s internal control procedures and internal control activities reports were examined. In addition, the Bank’s internal audit activities were analyzed by conducting interviews with bank officials for a better understanding of the internal control system. The IIAS, which are grouped under two main headings, are related to the internal audit activities of the related bank. It is thought that the study will guide banks and auditors in terms of demonstrating the application of IIAS, which usually consist of abstract statements.