Business Commons^™

Determinants And Consequences Of Internal Audit Functions Within Colleges And Universities, Steven Desimone, Kevin Rich

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors associated with the presence and use of internal audit functions (IAFs) at US colleges and universities, as well as their relationship with financial reporting quality and federal grant outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a combination of publicly available and manually collected data, this paper uses a two-stage model to examine both the factors associated with the use of IAFs within US institutions of higher education and the consequences therein.

Findings

Results indicate that institutions with larger enrollments and endowments, those that receive public funding and those that have an audit committee are …

Internal Audit And Financial Reporting Quality In The Public Sector, Steven M. Desimone

Economics Department Working Papers

Using a unique set of hand-collected data, this study investigates the association of (1) the presence of an Internal Audit Function (IAF) and (2) the use of quality assurance programs for the IAF with financial reporting quality in public sector organizations. Specifically, I examine if the presence of IAFs and the use of quality assessments therein is associated with the presence of financial statement audit reportable conditions and restatements in municipalities in the U.S. Results indicate that both the presence of an IAF and use of external quality programs therein are positively associated with financial statement audit reportable conditions related …

Usu Accounting Alum Wins International Internal Audit Research Award, Usu Jon M. Huntsman School Of Business

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business News Collection

USU Accounting alum, Lancelot Giles ʼ09, recently received the Esther R. Sawyer Research award at The Institute of Internal Auditorsʼ 75th annual conference in New York. The Sawyer Award is an annual worldwide competition open to undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in internal auditing at an Internal Auditing Education Partnership university. He received the award for his submission, “Achieving and Maintaining Professional Competency as an Internal Auditor in a High-Change Environment.”

Factors Influencing Recruitment Of Non-Accounting Business Professionals Into Internal Auditing, Geoffrey D. Bartlett, Joleen Kremin, K. Kelli Saunders, David A. Wood

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines factors affecting non-accounting business professionals' willingness to work in internal auditing. In a 2 × 6 experiment with 502 participants from across the country, we find that, in contrast to prior research examining accountants, business professionals have relatively favorable views of internal audit. Although they hold favorable views, participants were still less likely to apply for a position labeled as internal audit than an identical position with an alternate label. Varying the structure of internal audit, including job responsibilities, career path, and sourcing arrangement, did not affect participants' willingness to apply for an internal audit position. We …

Ipo Firms' Voluntary Compliance With Sox 404 As Evidence On The Value Relevance Of Internal Control Quality, Qianyun Huang, Kimberly Gleason, Leonard Rosenthal, Deborah Smith

Business Faculty Publications

Newly public firms are not required to comply with SOX 404 for their initial public offerings. This provides a unique setting in which to investigate the benefits of voluntary disclosure with SOX 404 and the value of information revealed as a consequence of compliance. We investigate whether voluntary compliance with SOX 404, either fully or partially, impacts the perceived risk of firms conducting IPOs on the first day of trading (reflected in underpricing) or following the IPO. Our results indicate that neither full compliance with SOX 404 at the time of the IPO, nor a managerial discussion of internal controls …

What The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Does Not Include: An Examination Of The Importance Of Audit Firm Rotation, Audit Firm Credibility And Tone At The Top, Nicole Damaschi

Honors Theses

This thesis is an examination of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) that was passed in response to a wave of accounting frauds, including Enron and WorldCom. Paul Sarbanes and Michael Oxley established SOX in an attempt to restore investors' confidence in the financial statements of publicly traded companies. However, there are critical elements of financial reporting that it fails to address, like audit firm rotation, audit firm credibility and management's tone at the top. Mandatory audit firm rotation and credible audit firms are believed to result in high-quality audits while management's tone at the top is reflected through the honesty and …

Internal Auditor Participation In Systems Development Projects, Meredith Maher, Michael D. Akers

Michael D. Akers

There are differing viewpoints in the internal auditing literature regarding the role of internal audit in systems development projects. One argument is that internal audit should act as consultants for such projects. A counter argument is that if internal auditors act as consultants this could impair in dependence. This study surveyed chief audit executives to determine their perceptions of the role of internal audit in systems development projects as well as the actual involvement of their departments in such projects. The findings show that chief audit executives place more importance on internal audit acting as consultants and less importance on …

Cpas' Role In Fighting Fraud In Nonprofit Organization, Andrea Mcneal, Jeffrey E. Michelman

Jeffrey E Michelman

The article discusses the role of financial officers and certified public accountants in facilitating and ensuring effective internal controls in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit boards frequently experience a high turnover of members, and individuals that volunteer are often untrained or unqualified to properly perform the oversight function. Moreover, most small nonprofits are cash based, which can compound any issues or weaknesses present in the control environment.

Addressing Problems With The Segregation Of Duties In Smaller Companies, Audrey A. Gramling, Dana R. Hermanson, Heather M. Hermanson, Zhongxia Shelly Ye

Faculty and Research Publications

The article discusses the problems encountered by smaller companies in the U.S. in the segregation of duties under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) section 404(a), which requires management to disclose its assessment of the effectiveness and weaknesses of internal control over financial reporting in the U.S. Analyses of the management report on internal control of sample companies cited by the authors showed that there are differences in the level of disclosure. The costs and benefits of using third parties in resolving segregation of duties problems are considered.

Sox Section 404 Material Weaknesses Related To Revenue Recognition, Dana R. Hermanson, Daniel M. Ivan, Susan H. Iva

Faculty and Research Publications

The article analyzes disclosures of material weaknesses in internal control after the implementation of U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) 404 and summarizes the efforts of firms to remediate such material weaknesses. According to SOX section 404, management must issue a report on the effectiveness of the internal control of the firm over financial reporting. It notes that a report must be issued by the external auditor expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting.

Building An Effective Internal Audit Function: Learning From Sox Section 404 Reports, Dana R. Hermanson, Daniel M. Ivancevich, Susan H. Ivancevich

Faculty and Research Publications

In the wake of the major accounting scandals, internal auditing has emerged as a powerful force in promoting effective controls, risk management, and governance in U.S. companies. This article highlights recent internal audit-related problems that were revealed in SOX Section 404 reports and offers specific recommendations for building an effective, value-adding internal audit function.

Disaster Recovery Planning: What Section 404 Audits Reveal, Dana R. Hermanson, Daniel M. Ivancevich, Susan H. Ivancevich

Faculty and Research Publications

This article summarizes U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act section 404 internal control reports that reveal material weaknesses due to inadequate disaster recovery planning. According to the authors, Section 404 applies to public companies with over $75 million in public float. They advise that auditors evaluating internal control over financial reporting must consider key information technology-related risks and controls that affect financial reporting, including issues related to disaster recovery planning.

Assessing Internal Audit Quality, Audrey A. Gramling, Scott D. Vandervelde

Faculty and Research Publications

Internal audit quality is an issue of great importance to both the internal and external audit professions. PCAOB Auditing Standard No 2 highlights this importance when addressing the reliance that the external auditor can place on the internal audit work product. The study discussed here experimentally tests the influence of the source of the internal audit function on both the internal and external auditors' evaluation of the quality of the internal audit function. To assess the importance of the internal audit function's sourcing arrangement in the internal audit function's quality assessment, the researchers employ a case study approach, modifying a …

The Effect Of The Implicit Theory Of Integrity On An Internal Auditor's Asessment Of Management Fraud Risk, Stephanie F. Watson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research project is to determine whether the implicit theory of integrity, a theory from the social psychology literature that predicts how social judgments and decisions are made, can explain internal auditors’ decisions. The implicit theory (Dweck and Leggett 1988) states that there are two types of people: (1) entity theorists and (2) incremental theorists. Entity theorists form strong inferences from observed behavior that are used to predict future behavior. Incremental theorists, on the other hand, do not infer characteristics from behavior, and therefore, do not attempt to predict future behavior. In an internal auditing context, the …

Internal Auditor Participation In Systems Development Projects, Meredith Maher, Michael D. Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

There are differing viewpoints in the internal auditing literature regarding the role of internal audit in systems development projects. One argument is that internal audit should act as consultants for such projects. A counter argument is that if internal auditors act as consultants this could impair in dependence. This study surveyed chief audit executives to determine their perceptions of the role of internal audit in systems development projects as well as the actual involvement of their departments in such projects. The findings show that chief audit executives place more importance on internal audit acting as consultants and less importance on …

Summary #4: The Effects Of Internal Audit Outsourcing On Perceived External Auditor Independence, D. Jordan Lowe, Marshall A. Geiger, Kurt Pany

Accounting Faculty Publications

The accounting profession is attempting to redefine itself, in part by expanding the types of services it provides. This expansion of services has raised questions about whether CPA firms can maintain their independence and still provide an ever-increasing array of other types of services to audit clients. In this study we addressed financial statement user perceptions about CPA firms performing internal auditing outsourcing activities—an area in which CPAs are becoming increasingly involved.

How Have The Professional Standards Influenced Practice?, Wanda A. Wallace

Historical Working Papers

Audit performance has improved steadily, largely attributable to the new standards, although definite room for improvement exists. Areas for improvement include exchanging audit reports between internal and external auditors, the use of audit programs and the use of statistical sampling.

Control Of Internal Auditing As Viewed By The Audit Committee And The Ceo, Jerry Bennett

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

Internal auditing must be controlled as must all functions, yet it must be free and sufficiently independent to fulfill its audit role. Control implies constraint, restraint, restrictions on freedom to initiate, to act. Control implies oversight by an authority higher up in a hierarchy. Control implies performance toward a plan and a subsequent appraisal of performance attained, including subjective judgments of the performer.