INTERNAL AUDIT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IMPACT AT THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY IN GREECE AND THE UK

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of Corporate Governance and Internal Audit at the Real Estate, Investment Properties and Construction sector in Greece and the United Kingdom. We conducted a survey to a large number of Greek and UK publicly listed firms operating at the Real Estate Sector based on their turnover and the accessibility of data such as numbers of employees and Internal Audit Department Structures. Specifically, we distributed a large number of structured questionnaires to Audit Committee and Internal Audit members to assess the impact of Corporate Governance best practices and Internal Audit operations at the Real Estate Industry. Our conclusion was that Internal Audit and Corporate Governance play a significant role to the Real Estate industry as they are positively associated with the sustainable development of the Real Estate Industry. Moreover, improved Corporate Governance and Internal Audit is associated with less development costs.