Ensuring objectives in their dual role of assurance and consulting services: a study on the planned behaviour of internal auditors

Abstract

Internal auditors play an important role in an organisation's governance, risk management, and control processes. As such, it is imperative that they maintain their objectivity or, at least, be perceived as objective while fulfilling this critical function. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) positions internal auditors at the core of the organisation, serving as both providers of assurance and consulting services (dual role). While some past studies revealed that internal auditors perceive conflicts in their dual roles which could jeopardise their objectivity, others were inconclusive. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the objective of this study is to understand internal auditors' perceptions about their dual roles and the impact on their objectivity, and their planned behaviour towards performing the dual roles while remaining objective. A qualitative study was conducted using purposeful, convenient, and snowball sampling methods to collect data through semi- structured interviews. The participants were internal auditors from both listed and unlisted South African companies. As an inclusion criterion, the participants perform both dual roles in their companies and the collected data was analysed using NVIVO to make sense of it. The findings show among other things that the participants are aware of the challenges and threats posed by their dual roles. Also, they displayed a positive attitude towards internal audit objectivity and understood its significance in their role. Furthermore, their social beliefs about the dual roles and objectivity, though different, centred on the need to remain professional and uphold ethical standards.