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Audit Departments (audit + department)
Kinds of Audit Departments Selected AbstractsInternal Audit Departments: Adoption and Characteristics in Italian CompaniesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2007Marika Arena This article analyses the adoption and characteristics of internal audit departments in Italian companies, in the light of recent changes in the economic and political environment following the big financial scandals which occurred both in Italy and abroad. The research framework is informed by new institutional theory, driving the definition of a conceptual model. The research approach comprises two steps: first, a preliminary in-depth case study to support the research design (assessment of relevant variables and questionnaire's construction); second, an extensive survey involving 364 Italian companies, with a response rate of 63%. The article highlights an actual diffusion of internal audit structures among Italian companies. Data collected show increasing attention towards internal audit activities, resources and competencies and highlight the relevance of isomorphic pressures in influencing companies' support of internal auditing. [source] Sampling Practices of Internal Auditors at Corporations on the Standard & Poor's Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index,ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVES, Issue 3 2009Michael Maingot ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to find out how often statistical and nonstatistical audit sampling practices are used by internal auditors in companies listed on the Standard and Poor's (S&P) Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) Composite Index and how such practices are related to the training and background of the respondents. We adapted the questionnaire used by Hall, Hunton, and Pierce (2002) in their survey of U.S. auditors in public accounting, industry, and government. Although 20 percent of companies responding do not have an internal audit department, the other 80 percent use statistical methods to plan sample sizes 15 percent (+5 percent) of the time, random sample selection methods 23 percent (+5 percent) of the time, but statistical evaluation methods only 10% (+4%) of the time. Despite the low percentage use, almost half of the respondents reported substantial training in statistical sampling and evaluation methods. Moreover, we found statistically significantly higher proportions of respondents with substantial training in audit sampling methods among companies cross-listed on U.S. exchanges compared with companies listed only on the TSX. Finally, respondents with a chartered accountant designation tend to have a negative impact on the use of statistical methods in audit sampling, and companies cross-listed on U.S. exchanges tend to have larger internal audit departments than companies listed only on the TSX. [source] Internal Audit Departments: Adoption and Characteristics in Italian CompaniesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2007Marika Arena This article analyses the adoption and characteristics of internal audit departments in Italian companies, in the light of recent changes in the economic and political environment following the big financial scandals which occurred both in Italy and abroad. The research framework is informed by new institutional theory, driving the definition of a conceptual model. The research approach comprises two steps: first, a preliminary in-depth case study to support the research design (assessment of relevant variables and questionnaire's construction); second, an extensive survey involving 364 Italian companies, with a response rate of 63%. The article highlights an actual diffusion of internal audit structures among Italian companies. Data collected show increasing attention towards internal audit activities, resources and competencies and highlight the relevance of isomorphic pressures in influencing companies' support of internal auditing. [source] |