Internal Audit - Its Role in Corporate Governance

Abstract

In India, appointment of internal auditor has been made mandatory for listed and certain other classes of companies by the Companies Act 2013. This is an inflexion point for the internal audit as the new provision gives an opportunity to internal auditors to claim their rightful position in companies by strengthening their relationship with the audit committee of the board of directors (Board). However, achieving recognition as a valuable function also requires providing services that are needed by the Board to enable it to play an effective role in corporate governance. Contemporary internal audit serves both the management and the Board. This paper examines the scope of internal audit.

Keywords: audit committee, corporate governance, internal audit, management audit, and social audit

JEL Classification: M 40