Conceptualising the modern proactive internal auditor amidst the 4th Industrial Revolution: a literature review

Abstract

Since its formal recognition, internal auditing has undergone significant changes such as moving from auditing around the computer towards auditing through the computer. Electronic devices have been acknowledged as important audit tools, resulting in internal auditors having to become all-rounders in a business dispensation and possessing an array of skills. With the responsibilities of internal auditors being periodically revised by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), while considering the rapid changes in the business landscape, the primary aim of this study was to conceptualise the modern proactive internal auditor amidst the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). This study was both non-empirical and exploratory and constituted qualitative research (literature review). From the research conducted, the modern proactive internal auditor amidst the 4IR was conceptualised as a natural person that is responsible for executing prescribed key tasks, while possessing a multitude of sufficiently developed basic business-skills and basic information technology-skills.