Outsourcing the internal aud it function (IAF) is a worldwide practice attractive to companies, practitioners and regulators because it is believed that providers of this function are objective and competent and can provide high-quality audit. This study explores the potential influence of company and auditor characteristics on selecting outsourced IAF providers with industry expertise. Using 334 observations for non-financial companies that outsourced this function to an external provider over the period 2010-2017, logistic regression suggests that company characteristics such as size, issue of new equity, age, and total accruals significantly determine the selection of industry-expertise outsourced IAF (IEOIAF) providers. We report similar findings when considering alternative approaches for measuring industry expertise, using a matching sample method, and controlling for the potential effect of endogeneity. In additional analysis, we explore these ABOUT THE AUTHOR