Boards of directors have the ultimate responsibility for governance – including internal control – in their organisations. Management is tasked with the design, implementation and maintenance of internal control systems. Internal auditors play a key role in independently evaluating these controls, acting as agents on behalf of the board of directors in order to mitigate the possibility of management not acting in the best interest of the organization, leaving gaps in the internal control system, and, in some instances, doing so in order to enable unlawful personal gain. The Committee of Sponsoring Organisations’ Integrated Framework for Internal Control (hereafter referred to as the COSO framework) is used as a recognised framework, which, if implemented, could result in an effective internal control system and served as the basis for the design of the research instrument of the research. The questionnaire was distributed to internal audit practitioners. Responses were obtained from 31 participants from the Eastern Cape and Western Cape regions in South Africa. The majority of the participants provide internal audit services to the local government sphere of the South African government. This article identifies which characteristics should exist in an organization’s control system that, in the opinion of internal auditors, improve the effectiveness of the internal control system. This study concludes that internal auditors are of the opinion that control characteristics as outlined in the COSO framework for ‘risk assessment’, ‘information and communication’, ‘control activities’ and ‘monitoring’ components of internal control, do contribute to an effective internal control system.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare the responses of South African respondents with all Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) 2006 respondents in the areas of compliance with the Institute of Internal Auditors' (IIA) International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards) and several areas of the internal audit activity's (IAA) operations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper summarises and discusses the survey results from questionnaires sent to the IIA members as of September 2006. For selected topics, the CBOK 2006 database is compared for South African respondents and non‐South African respondents.FindingsThe paper finds that South Africans have a higher level of compliance with the Standards than those respondents residing in other parts of the world. Since the internal auditing profession is so young in South Africa, compliance with the Standards gives structure and support to the new IAAs and internal auditors.Originality/valueThis is the first study comparing the status of the South African internal auditing profession with the global state of internal auditing, activities performed by internal auditors and the perception of the IAAs in their organizations.

Background: Prior research confirmed that the balanced scorecard (BSC) can be used successfully at manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to assist with sustainability. South African SMEs have a low survival rate despite being a significant contributor to the local economy with the manufacturing sector in particular hampered by negative growth.Aim: The objective of this study was to develop a BSC for manufacturing SMEs in South Africa with measurable key performance indicators (KPIs).Setting: We conducted a Delphi study with cost accounting specialists in different industries.Methods: The development of the generic BSC was facilitated with a Delphi survey and analytical hierarchy process (AHP).Results: The research presents a generic yet flexible BSC for manufacturing SMEs. A total number of 12 generic and 104 specific KPIs were identified. The results revealed a greater emphasis on the financial and customer perspectives that may be conducive to SME sustainability and success.Conclusion: A generic BSC that can be adapted to specific organisational and industry requirements has the potential to enhance SME sustainability and success.

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Setting: A case study at a manufacturing SME specialising in custom products was employed. Methods:The generic steps for TDABC as described in published literature were adapted for the manufacturing SME where the case study was conducted. Results:The study found that it was practical to implement TDABC at a manufacturing SME by extrapolating the cost data from a single product which harnesses all the key activities in the factory. The TDABC costing data were sufficient for analysis of unused capacity and overexpenditure, hence providing information to consider in profitability enhancement and to support the TOC. Conclusion:The proposed framework for TDABC implementation at SMEs revises the generic framework suggested in literature by focusing on key products only and consolidating activities.