Informal Interactions between Audit Committees and Internal Audit Functions: Exploratory Evidence and Directions for Future Research

30 Pages Posted: 19 May 2013

See all articles by Mahbub Zaman

Mahbub Zaman

Hull University Business School

Gerrit Sarens

Ghent University - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Accounting and Corporate Finance

Date Written: May 19, 2013

Abstract

This paper provides evidence on the prominence of informal interactions between audit committees and internal audit functions and exploratory evidence on factors associated informal interactions. The findings, based on a questionnaire survey of chief audit executives (CAEs) in the UK, suggest that in addition to formal pre-scheduled meetings, audit committees rely on informal interactions with internal audit functions to undertake their monitoring role. The evidence also shows that informal interactions have a positive significant association with both audit committee independence and the knowledge and experience of the audit committee chair. Emphasizing the need for further research to better understand the nature and quality of audit committees’ informal interactions the paper encourages further research focusing in particular on: (i) the effect of both audit committee and internal audit/CAE knowledge and objectivity on informal interactions; (ii) the nature, quality and variations in informal interactions; (iii) the antecedents and consequences of informal interactions; and (iv) the institutional and organizational contexts within which audit committees operate and within which informal interactions take place.

Suggested Citation

Zaman, Mahbub and Sarens, Gerrit, Informal Interactions between Audit Committees and Internal Audit Functions: Exploratory Evidence and Directions for Future Research (May 19, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2267053 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2267053

Mahbub Zaman (Contact Author)

Hull University Business School ( email )

Hull, HU6 7RX
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.mahbubzaman.com

Gerrit Sarens

Ghent University - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Accounting and Corporate Finance ( email )

Coupure Links 653
Ghent, 9000
Belgium

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