INVESTIGATING THE VALUE CREATION OF INTERNAL AUDIT AND ITS IMPACT ON COMPANY PERFORMANCE

The purpose of the study was to investigate the possible value creation of an effective internal audit function in a business organization and the impact of the value creation on financial performance. A quantitative research approach was adopted. The research targeted 40 employees in management positions, audit department and finance department. Questionnaires were administered to a selected sample size of 25 African Sun Limited employees. The major finding was that internal audit function has been found to have a positive association with an organization’s financial performance with both its assurance and consultative role proving to add value. Also internal audit characteristics were tested against organizational performance, with internal audit size and competence/experience proving to have a positive association but CAE qualification has a negative effect. Conclusions were made that management should ensure that their Internal Audit Function (IAF) are fully resourced and fully receive their support and also management should in engage internal auditors intensively on both assurance and consultative assignments as they tend to possess vast business knowledge and both the roles has proven their capabilities of improving business performance