Factors impacting the effectiveness of internal audit functions in public organizations: a quantitative study

Résumé

This article focuses on the effectiveness of internal audits in public organizations. Resource-based theory is used to explore the factors impacting internal audit effectiveness.

The objective is to examine the factors influencing the effectiveness of the internal audit function in public organizations. We attempt to answer the following research question: "What are the factors that impact the effectiveness of the internal audit function in public organizations?

We adopted a post-positivist posture, a hypothetico-deductive logic and a quantitative approach. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to 120 heads of internal audit units and 120 internal audit staff in public organizations. A total of 240 questionnaires were distributed of which 230 were valid. Multiple regression was used to analyze the collected data.

The results of the statistical tests showed that the main factors affecting internal audit effectiveness were top management support, organizational culture, and internal audit independence. The multiple regression model indicated that, among these factors, top management support had the most significant impact on internal audit effectiveness.