Determinants and Consequences of Internal Audit Function Quality

Download or read book Determinants and Consequences of Internal Audit Function Quality written by Like Jiang and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I develop a new input-based measure of internal audit function (IAF) quality and investigate the factors that incentivize firms to establish a high-quality IAF as well as the economic consequences of a high-quality IAF. To operationalize my empirical analysis, I construct a unique, international archival IAF sample by matching a proprietary global internal auditor survey named CBOK 2010 with public data in the Worldscope database. Based on the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing proposed by the Institute of Internal Auditors, I measure IAF quality by desirable IAF attributes and practices which encompass the IAF's (1) competence, (2) independence, (3) planning and reporting practices, and (4) quality assurance and improvement practices. Regarding the determinants of IAF quality, I find that the IAF quality is affected by firms' operating environments and features of other governance mechanisms including board monitoring incentives, audit committee diligence, and CEO power. Moreover, firms' incentives for a high-quality IAF are bolstered by strict and detailed IAF requirements in countries' corporate governance codes. Finally, I document that other governance mechanisms, especially the monitoring incentives of directors, play a greater role in influencing the IAF quality when the overall regulatory environment is weak. Regarding the economic consequences of a high-quality IAF, I first address the role of IAF in providing assurance services in financial reporting and find that IAF quality is positively associated with earnings quality. Considering the increasing involvement of IAF in risk management and strategic initiatives, which leads to an expanded role of IAF in providing consulting services relevant to firms' operations, I further provide evidence supporting that a high-quality IAF matters for firms' operating performance. Specifically, I document that the speed of operating performance recovery after the recent financial crisis is significantly quicker for firms with a high-quality IAF than for firms with a low-quality IAF, and that the IAF quality is positively associated with firms' investment efficiency in the post-financial-crisis period. In addition, I find that the extent to which the IAF is involved in strategic consulting activities has an incremental positive effect on performance recovery, which suggests that providing consulting services is an important way for the IAF to deliver value to firms. However, the benefits from such an expansion of consulting activities comes at a cost in firms with a low-quality IAF, as I find that the IAF's involvement in strategic consulting can impair the IAF's role in providing assurance services and hence negatively affects earnings quality when the IAF quality is low but not when the IAF quality is high. Overall, the findings suggest that if the IAF is expected to deliver value to firms by providing both assurance and consulting services, maintaining an appropriate level of IAF quality is essential.