An Adversary or an Ally? Perceptions of Internal Auditors. A Narrative Analysis

• Autorzy: Lena Grzesiak
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Purpose: The paper aims to present the image of internal auditors and its effect on internal audit effectiveness based on the results of a qualitative analysis of internal auditors' and auditees' narratives. Design/Methodology/Approach: in the article a critical literature review and a qualitative analysis of auditees' and internal auditors' narratives were performed. The research method used was an content analysis of narratives. The analysis was conducted on 2114 responses: 953 from auditees and 1161 from internal auditors. The theoretical framework for the study design was contingency theory. Findings: The theoretical part provides a critical review of studies on the perception of internal auditors and its bearing on their work and organisational status. The empirical part discusses the results of author's research, revealing a mostly negative image of internal auditors among auditees and their negative attitudes towards the profession. The internal auditors attributed this mainly to employees' fear of being audited, managers' reluctance to internal audit, and misunderstanding of the purpose of internal audit. The results of the study indicate that more efforts should be made to dispel auditees' negative perceptions of internal auditors and create a more collaborative environment between them. Research limitations/implications: The study has several limitations related to the use of purposive sampling resulting in non-representativeness of the sample and possible misinterpretations of respondents' narratives. Therefore, its findings need to be confirmed by a study using different research methods and a larger sample of respondents representing various internal audit stakeholders. Orginality/Value: Despite its limitations, the study may benefit current and aspiring internal auditors by giving them more insight into the psychosocial challenges of this profession. (original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Internal audit; Internal auditors; Qualitative analysis

PL

Audyt wewnętrzny; Audytorzy wewnętrzni; Analiza jakościowa

• Czasopismo: Zeszyty Naukowe. Organizacja i Zarządzanie / Politechnika Śląska
• Rocznik: 2023
• Numer: z. 175 Contemporary management = Współczesne zarządzanie
• Strony: 149--167

Twórcy

autor

Lena Grzesiak

• University of Lodz, Poland

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Identyfikatory

DOI

10.29119/1641-3466.2023.175.10