New Perspectives in Internal Audit Research: A Structured Literature Review

Abstract

This structured literature review adopts a multimethod and multitheoretical approach to identify current knowledge about internal audit as well as related knowledge gaps. To that end, it provides an overview of post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act literature, organizing it under three themes: the multiple roles of internal audit, internal audit quality (IAQ), and the practice of internal audit. Despite the volume of literature published during the period covered by this review (2005 to mid-2017), the first two themes are still in development, while the third is emergent. We suggest research avenues to fill the following main gaps: (i) Given differing opinions about the expected or actual roles of internal audit, prior literature infers that the internal audit function has become the "jack of all trades" of governance, but does not clearly capture its actual roles. (ii) The viewpoint of external auditors has dominated IAQ research, leading to a misunderstanding of how actors with greater stakes in the practice of internal audit conceptualize and evaluate IAQ. (iii) Knowledge of the actual practice of internal audit and its accountability and ethical issues is fragmentary, therefore the literature's current picture of internal audit is far from comprehensive.

What is the value of internal auditing? – A literature review on qualitative and quantitative perspectives

“…Although there is a clear and precise definition of what IA is and should do, the actual role IA has within an organization is also important (see e.g. Roussy and Perron 2018). The role an organization assigns IA can either focus on advisory, meaning IA is expected to establish productive relationships both with the management of an organization as well as with other stakeholders (Arena and Azzone 2009;Van Peursem 2005), or IA's role focuses on assurance for the audit committee and CEO/CFO.…”

“…To visualize the divergent perception of IA, consider the following example. While Ernst and Young (2007) questions whether IA is a "star or extra", a huge part of the literature calls IA not-so-flattering "jack of all trades" and "master of none" (Roussy and Perron 2018).…”

Sustainability Accounting and Reporting in the Public Sector: Towards Public Value Co-Creation?

“…These findings can be interpreted considering that the debate on the (economic, social, and environmental) sustainable impact of public sector organizations has been a hot topic in Europe, especially in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis that affected the Eurozone in the last decade [88]. Emerged as a fiscal issue, the crisis has further evolved into a legitimacy crisis affecting the relationship between public sector organizations and the civil society [89,90].…”

“…To explain this evidence, some considerations should be made. First, it should be noted that, over the past fifteen years, the concept of value co-creation has acquired and consolidated its scientific maturity, to the point of becoming a "scientific compass" for many scholars all over the world [88]. In fact, since the early years of the new century, the number of those who have embraced this observational perspective has grown exponentially [29].…”

Audit Lag Criteria Report as a Determination of the Reliability and Quality of Auditor's Report in Indonesia

“…The testing process is known as the auditing carried out by public accountants as an independent party. The obligation to submit financial reports to external supervision, public trust must be maintained with assistance in the form of financial statement presentation (Agyei, 2018;Roussy & Perron, 2018, Raiborn et al 2018and Salehi et al 2018). If it is not audited, there is a possibility that the financial statements contain both deliberate and negligent errors, then unaudited financial statements are less reliable by the parties.…”