IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jmgtgv/v21y2017i2d10.1007_s10997-016-9342-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internal audit function quality and financial reporting: results of a survey on German listed companies

Author

Listed:
  • Marius Gros

    (University of Bremen)

  • Sebastian Koch

    (Goethe University Frankfurt/Main)

  • Christoph Wallek

    (PricewaterhouseCoopers AG)

Abstract

Most prior studies on internal audit function (IAF) quality and financial reporting have focused on the US setting and have found a positive association between IAF quality proxies and both financial reporting quality and audit efficiency. In this study, we apply the German setting that is characterized by a two-tier board system of corporate governance and different prerequisites for the serving-two-masters problem. This might weaken the IAF’s ability to monitor financial reporting-related processes. To analyze this, we use survey data to measure IAF quality in the German setting and run multiple regressions to examine the association of several IAF quality characteristics and a self-developed IAF quality score with financial reporting quality and audit efficiency. The results show that also in a two-tier system, a high-quality IAF is able to contribute to both financial reporting quality and audit efficiency. Our findings support the notion that the IAF serves as an essential element of effective corporate governance and plays an important role in financial reporting. Moreover, as a practical implication of interest to regulators and managers, we identify that the external certification of the IAF and internal audit-related certifications of IAF employees may contribute to higher financial reporting quality and lower audit fees.

Suggested Citation

  • Marius Gros & Sebastian Koch & Christoph Wallek, 2017. "Internal audit function quality and financial reporting: results of a survey on German listed companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(2), pages 291-329, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:21:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10997-016-9342-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10997-016-9342-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10997-016-9342-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10997-016-9342-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chris E. Hogan & Michael S. Wilkins, 2008. "Evidence on the Audit Risk Model: Do Auditors Increase Audit Fees in the Presence of Internal Control Deficiencies?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 219-242, March.
    2. Barua, Abhijit & Rama, Dasaratha V & Sharma, Vineeta, 2010. "Audit committee characteristics and investment in internal auditing," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 503-513, September.
    3. Jennifer Francis & Dhananjay Nanda & Per Olsson, 2008. "Voluntary Disclosure, Earnings Quality, and Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 53-99, March.
    4. Anna M. Costello & Regina Wittenberg‐Moerman*, 2011. "The Impact of Financial Reporting Quality on Debt Contracting: Evidence from Internal Control Weakness Reports," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 97-136, March.
    5. Jenny Goodwin‐Stewart & Pamela Kent, 2006. "Relation between external audit fees, audit committee characteristics and internal audit," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 46(3), pages 387-404, September.
    6. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    7. Wan-Hussin, Wan Nordin & Bamahros, Hasan Mohammed, 2013. "Do investment in and the sourcing arrangement of the internal audit function affect audit delay?," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 19-32.
    8. Norman, Carolyn Strand & Rose, Anna M. & Rose, Jacob M., 2010. "Internal audit reporting lines, fraud risk decomposition, and assessments of fraud risk," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 546-557, July.
    9. Laura Sierra García & Emiliano Ruiz Barbadillo & Manuel Orta Pérez, 2012. "Audit committee and internal audit and the quality of earnings: empirical evidence from Spanish companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(2), pages 305-331, May.
    10. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    11. Ryan Davidson & Jenny Goodwin‐Stewart & Pamela Kent, 2005. "Internal governance structures and earnings management," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 45(2), pages 241-267, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Thu Trang Ta & Thanh Nga Doan, 2022. "Factors Affecting Internal Audit Effectiveness: Empirical Evidence from Vietnam," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Cláudia Silveira Thys Mutti & Clea Beatriz Macagnan, 2022. "Management legitimacy of public universities supported by the quality of their internal audits," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(8), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Wan-Hussin, Wan Nordin & Fitri, Hadiati & Salim, Basariah, 2021. "Audit committee chair overlap, chair expertise, and internal auditing practices: Evidence from Malaysia," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    4. Nahla Abdulrahman Mohammed Raweh & Hasnah Kamardin & Mazrah Malik @ Malek & Abdulwahid Ahmed Hashed Abdullah, 2021. "The Association between Audit Partner Busyness, Audit Partner Tenure, and Audit Efficiency," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 11(1), pages 90-103, January.
    5. Madiha Afzal, 2023. "Evaluation of Factors Contributing to the Effectiveness of Internal Audit Quality in Pakistani Commercial Banks," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mélanie Roussy & Alexandre Perron, 2018. "New Perspectives in Internal Audit Research: A Structured Literature Review," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 345-385, September.
    2. Jennifer Martínez-Ferrero, 2014. "Consequences of financial reporting quality on corporate performance. Evidence at the international level," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 41(1 Year 20), pages 49-88, June.
    3. Charlene P. Spiceland & Leo L. Yang & Joseph H. Zhang, 2016. "Accounting quality, debt covenant design, and the cost of debt," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1271-1302, November.
    4. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    5. Chan, Lilian H. & Chen, Kevin C.W. & Chen, Tai-Yuan & Yu, Yangxin, 2012. "The effects of firm-initiated clawback provisions on earnings quality and auditor behavior," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 180-196.
    6. Skaife, Hollis A. & Veenman, David & Wangerin, Daniel, 2013. "Internal control over financial reporting and managerial rent extraction: Evidence from the profitability of insider trading," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 91-110.
    7. Ghosh, Aloke(Al) & Tang, Charles Y., 2015. "Assessing financial reporting quality of family firms: The auditors׳ perspective," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 95-116.
    8. Ferrer García, Cristina & Laínez Gadea, José Antonio, 2013. "Detectando diferencias en la medición de la calidad del resultado: evidencia empírica para empresas españolas || Detecting Differences on the Earnings Quality Measurement: Empirical Evidence on Spanis," Revista de Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa = Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, vol. 16(1), pages 5-28, December.
    9. Chyz, James A. & Eulerich, Marc & Fligge, Benjamin & Romney, Miles A., 2023. "Codetermination and aggressive reporting: Audit committee employee representation, tax aggressiveness, and earnings management," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    10. Chen, Yangyang & Rhee, S. Ghon & Veeraraghavan, Madhu & Zolotoy, Leon, 2015. "Stock liquidity and managerial short-termism," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 44-59.
    11. Mohamed Khalil & Aydin Ozkan, 2016. "Board Independence, Audit Quality and Earnings Management: Evidence from Egypt," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 15(1), pages 84-118, April.
    12. Antonio Cerqueira & Claudia Pereira, 2017. "Accruals quality, managers’ incentives and stock market reaction: evidence from Europe," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(16), pages 1606-1626, April.
    13. Chalmers, Keryn & Hay, David & Khlif, Hichem, 2019. "Internal control in accounting research: A review," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 80-103.
    14. Nguyen, Quynh & Kim, Maria H. & Ali, Searat, 2024. "Corporate governance and earnings management: Evidence from Vietnamese listed firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 775-801.
    15. Like Jiang & Paul André & Chrystelle Richard, 2018. "An international study of internal audit function quality," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(3), pages 264-298, April.
    16. Shivan Sarpal, 2017. "Analyzing Performance Implications of Selected Audit Committee Characteristics: A Study of Indian Corporate Sector," Business Perspectives and Research, , vol. 5(2), pages 137-150, July.
    17. Ahsan Habib & Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan, 2016. "Problem directors on the audit committee and financial reporting quality," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 121-144, February.
    18. Li, Tianpei (Constance) & Walton, Stephanie, 2023. "Is there a dark side of competition? Product market competition and auditor-client contracting," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    19. Jeffrey Pittman & Baolei Qi & Yi Si & Zi-Tian Wang & Chongwu Xia, 2024. "Individual Auditor Social Responsibility and Audit Quality: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(1), pages 119-144, September.
    20. Iwata, Kiyonori, 2021. "Are High-Quality Earnings Useful for Voting Shareholders? Evidence from the Top Executive Director Election in Japan," Working Paper Series G-1-25, Hitotsubashi University Center for Financial Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internal audit function; Internal controls; Financial reporting quality; Audit efficiency; Corporate governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:21:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10997-016-9342-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.