Influence of internal audit independence on internal audit effectiveness in the kirinyaga county government, Kenya

Abstract

Auditing has become a crucial part of every modern organization positioning itself for excellence in internal control, corporate governance and prudent financial management. To be effective however, internal auditing activity must be independent. The study explored the relationship between internal audit independence and internal audit effectiveness in the Kirinyaga County Government. A descriptive research design was adopted. The target population of the study consisted of all the forty six (46) staff members from the Directorate of Internal Audit of Kirinyaga County Government. Primary data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire composed of closed ended questions. Descriptive and regression analysis were done with the help of SPSS. The findings indicated that the audit function was less than independent in evidence analysed. Regression analysis revealed that internal audit independence had positive and significant effect on internal audit effectiveness at p value ≤ 0.05. The study concluded that internal audit independence was an important predictor of the effectiveness of the audit function in the county government. The study recommended that the county government ensure that the county directorate of internal audit is autonomous and freely accesses audit evidence necessary in the course of their audit work. The function should not perform non audit work, freely determine their scope of audit, and always functionally report to county audit committee.