Internal Audit and Added Value: What is the Relationship? Literature Review

Abstract

In the current economic context marked by the relentlessness of the competition, the internal auditor is often called upon to put his skills at the service of organizations in order to control risks and evaluate internal control systems. Consequently, he contributes to the creation of value. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the theoretical foundations of internal auditing and their relationship with the value creation for organizations. Through a literature review on the contribution of internal audit to value creation, we found that the results of the majority of these papers supported a positively significant relationship. However, by conducting a critical analysis of models used, we demonstrated the methodological limitations that may bias these results. As a result, we have listed the limitations of traditional indicators of value creation (Return on Assets, Return on Equity, discounted cash flows, among others); thus, we have argued the superiority of the Economic Value Added (EVA), as a measure indicator of value creation through the inclusion of the cost of capital in its structure. Following these well-founded results, a subsequent study will be conducted to empirically test the contribution of internal auditing to value creation by integrating EVA as a measure of value creation.