New Frontiers for Internal Audit Research

Abstract

Internal audit provides useful and valuable services to organizations and research has established its importance in improving corporate governance. However, the body of internal audit research is still small. Further, there are many new and emerging topics for which little is known and practitioners would like guidance. Based on surveys, interviews, and discussions with practitioners, we identify three broad areas for additional research: information technology, staffing and personnel development, and agile auditing. In each area, we describe the current practices and discuss the relevant accounting literature, noting gaps where additional inquiry is needed. We also provide a list of testable research ideas to help inform academics about practice-relevant research questions that would not only add to the academic literature, but would benefit practitioners who seek guidance. Hopefully, this paper will inspire more academic research that investigates important internal audit questions.