The Impact of Culture on the Quality of Internal Audit

Abstract

This study draws on Hofstede’s theoretical framework to examine the impact of different dimensions of culture on the quality of internal audit (QIA) in Saudi Arabia. A sample of chief internal auditors from 67 listed companies has been used to examine the direct effect of the cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism on the QIA. Evidence was found that organizations, in which power distance and uncertainty avoidance are high, are characterized by lower QIA. The results also show a positive association between individualism and the QIA, indicating that internal audit is largely based on the accomplishments of the individual internal auditors associated with the process. Considering these outcomes from the Saudi Arabian standpoint, where the cultural and economic contexts are underpinned by collectivism rather than individualism, it emerges that it is only comparatively recently that a tradition of governance and audit has started to develop, and that quite particular and strong cultural influences stemming from tribalism and pervasive core traditions beliefs operate to condition the effort to achieve the ideal internal audit environment.