Effect of extrinsic factors on internal audit effectiveness in public sector organisations: a case study of upper west region.

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Date
2023
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KNUST
Abstract
The rise in financial scandals in recent times in government institutions and entities despite the existence of internal audit units in the public sector has made the role of internal audit effectiveness to attract the attention of academic researchers, professional bodies, the financial community and regulators. The purpose of this study was to examine extrinsic factors that influence internal audit effectiveness in the Ghanaian Public Sector. A sample size of one hundred and fifty-five (155) is used for the study. An explanatory research design is used in this study. Stratified random sampling technique is used in selecting respondents. One of the objectives of this study is to examine the relationship between the extrinsic factors that influence internal audit effectiveness. Questionnaire is used as survey instrument to solicit data from the respondents. The study used multiple linear regression model to estimate the factors that influence internal audit effectiveness. The study found out that, independence of internal auditors, competence of internal auditors and top management support have significant positive influence on internal audit effectiveness in the public sector in the Upper West Region. However, task complexity has a negative influence on internal audit effectiveness. The result reveals that the level of internal audit effectiveness among the public sector institutions in the Upper West Region of Ghana was high. The finding also indicates that auditor’s independence, competence, and management support drive internal audit effectiveness and that the internal auditor’s propensity to perform effectively does not depend on task complexity. The study recommends that there should be regular training and development of internal auditors on new internal audit policies, rules and procedures and sharing of experiences among internal auditors across various public institutions and organization to enhance the competence level of the internal auditors.
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A thesis presented to the department of accounting and finance, Kwame Nkrumah university of science and technology in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of master of science (accounting and finance)
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