IntroductionAs countries embark on a road to a resilient and inclusive economy, global scandals on corruption have escalated in an unprecedented scale in every continent, from Asia to Africa, Europe and America. The size, magnitude and complexity of operations has increased to a high level, with state administrations observing new methodologies to identify ambiguities and entry points for activities of corruption (The World Bank, 2020). Countries around the world has embarked on numerous forms of reform endeavors such as enhancing financial controls, financial reporting, transparency, accountability and governance in the quest to fight corruption in the public sector. A central component in the reform course is focused on monitoring and control of resources through audit and regulatory disclosures (Paterson, Changwony, & Miller, 2019). Internal audit (IA) is an essential feature in the reform process creating an ethical environment with solid governance controls to mitigate public sector corruption, a long-standing scourge on nation development. This research is focused on the role of effective internal audit function (IAF) in mitigating public sector corruption, challenges and reasons for lack of IAF, adequacy of existing internal control system, risk management processes and governance mechanism and providing recommendations to strengthen IAF in the public sector of Maldives.The public sector of Maldives comprises of 17 ministries and32 State Owned Entities (SOEs) as of 2021 (Ministry of Finance, 2021; The Presidents Office, 2021). Further, city councils, atoll councils and island level councils are elected to facilitate provision of basic necessities and essential services required by all citizens in the nation. This raises significance of public sector integrity and transparency, good governance mechanism and operating effectiveness to mitigate fraud, malpractices and corruption of public funds and resources.The eminence of internal audit has elevated in the world due to increased number of corporate collapses and financial scandals. International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) of Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) defines internal audit as an independent and objective consulting activity which add value to an organization and strengthen internal control system, effectiveness of risk management processes, and governance mechanism through a systematic and