ASSESSMENT OF INTERNAL AUDIT PRACTICES IN UNITED BANK S.C.

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the internal audit practice in United Bank S.C. Internal auditing function was traditionally designed to safeguard firm’s assets and assist in the production of reliable accounting information for decision-making purposes. The need to focus on corporate governance has increased particularly in the wake of economic collapse and financial crises. Similar studies have hypothesized that the internal audit practice had influence on the corporate governance of an organization. This study adopted a descriptive research design. The study used stratified random sampling in identification of 32 respondents. Structured questionnaire was used to gather data from the respondents. Data collected was coded and analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 for descriptive statistics. Presentation was by use of graphs and percentages which enhanced a meaningful description. Theresearcher observed the following findings that adversely affect the effective Internal Audit Practicein the bank. These are, In the United Bank S.C the internal audit department budget set and approved by the president of the Bank which affects the independence of the internal audit department of the bank. The internal audit head (controller) meets the Board Audit Committee periodically with the presence of management that compromises the independence of the department. The internal audit Department of the Bank has not adequate and competent internal audit staff and almost all internal auditors of the bank have not professional certification related to auditing activity. Therefore, the study concludes that the Board Audit Committee and Top Management of the bank needs to work on the above mentioned findings that affect negatively to the internal audit practice of the bank while keeping those practices that do not oppose to the theoretical perspective and existing best practice. Moreover, the study recommends further studies on the role of other major corporate governance players such as, the bank’s Board of Director, the bank’s Board Audit Committee, banks Senior Management and the External Auditors.