Performance Attributes of Internal Auditors: A Cross-Cultural Study
40 Pages Posted: 5 Jan 2010 Last revised: 9 Jan 2010
Date Written: January 4, 2010
Abstract
A sample of 1,497 chief audit executives (CAEs) from 19 countries selected the most important performance attributes from a list of 43 for the practice of internal auditing at various professional ranks. The performance attributes identified as most important are generally similar to those in external auditing, indicating that while some attributes (e.g., leadership, risk analysis) are more important for upper ranks, other attributes (e.g., data collection and analysis, analytical) are more important for lower ranks. The study’s main contribution to the literature is its investigation of the effects of culture on performance attributes. The results indicate significant effects of cultural clusters on performance attributes. For example, while Latin-American CAEs rated leadership skills at higher levels than other cultural clusters for staff, the East-European CAEs assessed the importance of technical skills at higher levels than other clusters for CAEs. Implications of the results are discussed.
Keywords: Internal auditor attributes, professional rank, culture, International Accounting
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