An evaluation on the effectiveness of internal audit in South Zimbabwe Conference Churches

Abstract

The issue of trust between those charged with running an organization and the stakeholders, both for-profit and not-for-profit, is important. There is a need for the organizations to be reviewed frequently by an independent person so that the stakeholders are given an assurance that what the managers say is happening is really as per their claim. Therefore, there is a need for effective internal audits in any organization. This study evaluated the effectiveness of internal audits so as to help the Conference know the impact that internal audits have on the churches. Since the audit function is performed by the internal auditors, there are attributes which they have to have for internal audits to have an impact. A causal cross-sectional study was conducted by gathering quantitative data through questionnaires administered to selected church board members within South Zimbabwe Conference. The findings indicated that, generally, the internal auditors demonstrated the internal core attributes. Based on the results of the study, we can conclude that the internal audit function demonstrates the internal audit core attributes in South Zimbabwe Conference Churches. Besides, there is a positive relationship between the eight internal core attributes and effective internal audits. Furthermore, internal audit core attributes such as service culture, stakeholder management, risk focus, quality and innovation, and technology are significant predictors of the effectiveness of internal audits in South Zimbabwe Conference Churches. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that for the internal audit function to be more effective: the internal auditors should display independence when conducting the internal audits; financial prudence should be encouraged by the internal auditors as opposed to cost optimization; adequate appropriate personnel should be used in the auditing department; investment should be made in technology to be used in conducting internal audits; and service culture should be improved.