What is the value of internal auditing? – A literature review on qualitative and quantitative perspectives

Abstract

In recent years, research on internal audit has developed significantly. Numerous papers have discussed the importance of internal auditing (IA) as a central pillar of the corporate governance system. Through its activities, IA supports the Audit Committee and the CEO/C-Level. As an independent, objective assurance and advisory function, it is designed to add value through the audit of the internal control system, risk management and the governance processes. Interestingly, research on internal audit unfortunately rarely corresponds to these added value concept defined in the core responsibilities. Therefore, this literature review attempts to highlight the possible perspectives of the added value discussion and to help define future research avenues.