This article proposes a disclosure framework for the reporting of HIV/Aids‐related information in annual reports to address the lack of consistency in current disclosure…
Abstract
This article proposes a disclosure framework for the reporting of HIV/Aids‐related information in annual reports to address the lack of consistency in current disclosure practices. A literature review was undertaken to determine business risks and responses relating to the disease, followed by an empirical investigation into voluntary disclosure on HIV/Aids by companies listed on the JSE Securities Exchange. The investigation consisted of a thematic content analysis for the period 1998 to 2004. The results of both the literature review and the empirical investigation are used to recommend a disclosure framework that companies can use when reporting on HIV/Aids in their annual reports. The framework recommends the disclosure of HIV/Aids risks and responses by organisations.
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The Institute of Internal Auditors is in the process of developing new standards for the internal auditing profession. The first set of these standards will be implemented with…
Abstract
The Institute of Internal Auditors is in the process of developing new standards for the internal auditing profession. The first set of these standards will be implemented with effect from 1 January 2002. The purpose of professional standards is to lay down the minimum requirements to be maintained for acceptable practice. In June 1999, a new formal definition of internal auditing was adopted to address relevant issues with which internal auditing is currently faced. Existing standards, when read in conjunction with the new definition, have deficiencies and these deficiencies have led to the development of new standards for the profession. The purpose of this article is to discuss the limitations of the current standards, to identify the changes incorporated in the new standards, and to evaluate the changes. The article evaluates whether the new standards address the changes in the new definition and highlights the influence of the changes in the standards on the internal auditing profession. The findings are that the new standards are difficult to analyse, especially because the current standards must still be used in conjunction with the new standards, yet the changes successfully address the challenges facing the internal auditing profession.
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Internal auditing assumes an increased responsibility for the evaluation of entity operations as a service to management and the board of directors. Quality assurance review is…
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Internal auditing assumes an increased responsibility for the evaluation of entity operations as a service to management and the board of directors. Quality assurance review is the process through which assurance is obtained that the internal auditing department’s work is done in accordance with the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. This study examines the current practices of quality assurance review in South Africa. Although not all organisations surveyed do perform internal auditing quality assurance reviews, the organisations that do, benefit from them. Various methods are used in practice to perform internal and external quality assurance reviews. This study provides information on the processes and procedures used in quality assurance review programmes.
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Federico Bertacchini, Gianluca Gabrielli, Ennio Lugli and Pier Luigi Marchini
This study aims to identify the principal changes that digitalization has brought about in the internal audit functions (IAFs), focusing on the main characteristics that have been…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the principal changes that digitalization has brought about in the internal audit functions (IAFs), focusing on the main characteristics that have been affected by this phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
The study follows a qualitative approach, involving the thematic analysis of semistructured interviews. A total of 22 professionals working in Italian-listed companies’ IAFs were interviewed. The framework of institutional theory was used to analyze the results.
Findings
The elements most affected by the digitalization of IAFs in Italy are: the skills required in IAFs, the relationship with external consultants and the types of activities performed by internal auditors (IArs). Nevertheless, the extent of the level digitalization within the IAFs of the companies analyzed appears to vary in accordance with the level of institutional pressures experienced by the organizations.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature on IA and digitalization by delineating the principal elements that are influenced by the digitalization process of IA. Moreover, it highlights how these elements develop and evolve as the level of digitalization of the IAF changes.
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Internal audit education is now concentrated in just a few tuition providers within the UK, a decrease from the 1980s. Generally it is not represented at all in its own right…
Abstract
Internal audit education is now concentrated in just a few tuition providers within the UK, a decrease from the 1980s. Generally it is not represented at all in its own right within higher education, and may just receive a passing reference as contrasted with external auditing. Hence it is scarcely perceptible and submerged. Even where it is rarely present it seems to have become “secularised”, its influence waning under the banner of “general management”. The professional body, the Institute of Internal Auditors – UK and Ireland, is too busy selling its highly profitable distance learning course to concern itself with disseminating the internal audit message to higher education, or attempt to gain its rightful footing within the curriculum. The limited literature is analysed and critiqued, the current state of play stated, and directions for the future indicated. Internal audit is in danger of becoming the best untold story.
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Marinda Marais, Priscilla A. Burnaby, Susan Hass, Elmarie Sadler and Houdini Fourie
The purpose of this paper is to compare the responses of South African respondents with all Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) 2006 respondents in the areas of compliance with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the responses of South African respondents with all Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) 2006 respondents in the areas of compliance with the Institute of Internal Auditors' (IIA) International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards) and several areas of the internal audit activity's (IAA) operations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper summarises and discusses the survey results from questionnaires sent to the IIA members as of September 2006. For selected topics, the CBOK 2006 database is compared for South African respondents and non‐South African respondents.
Findings
The paper finds that South Africans have a higher level of compliance with the Standards than those respondents residing in other parts of the world. Since the internal auditing profession is so young in South Africa, compliance with the Standards gives structure and support to the new IAAs and internal auditors.
Originality/value
This is the first study comparing the status of the South African internal auditing profession with the global state of internal auditing, activities performed by internal auditors and the perception of the IAAs in their organizations.
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literature and research internationally indicate a lack of sufficient facilitation of soft skills development in entry-level internal auditors (internal audit graduates upon…
Abstract
Purpose
literature and research internationally indicate a lack of sufficient facilitation of soft skills development in entry-level internal auditors (internal audit graduates upon entering the workplace), although it is essential for entry-level internal auditors to be able to apply soft skills effectively. The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent to which these international views and findings on soft skills development are evident in South Africa according to practising internal auditors, students and facilitators. Comparisons are also drawn between the perceptions of practising internal auditors, students and facilitators.
Design/methodology/approach
Purposive sampling was used, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire and an interview survey with quantitative analysis.
Findings
In general, the results concur with the literature in terms of the lack of sufficient facilitation and the importance of soft skills development in entry-level internal auditors in South Africa for all three groups. Significant differences were also found between some of the perceptions of practising internal auditors, students and facilitators.
Practical implications
This study benefits internal audit employers, students and facilitators because soft skills are an in-demand graduate attribute and the application of alternative teaching–learning activities to develop students' soft skills also promotes deep learning through student engagement.
Originality/value
The identification of the 21 soft skills categories from the literature, which should be developed in entry-level internal auditors, has not been researched before as well as the perspectives of students and facilitators in South Africa on soft skills development.
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Workshop 3 entitled “Sustainability and Growth” involved 4 speakers: Raija Komppula (Finland), Richard Prentice (England), Claude Origet du Cluzeau (France) and Luiz Trigo…
Abstract
Workshop 3 entitled “Sustainability and Growth” involved 4 speakers: Raija Komppula (Finland), Richard Prentice (England), Claude Origet du Cluzeau (France) and Luiz Trigo (Brazil). Given the broad spectrum of the workshop theme, the four speakers all focussed on different aspects. Their approach to the theme could be rather theoretical or more practical.
Tiffany Cheng Han Leung and Rob Gray
This paper aims to explore the extent to which social responsibility and social and environmental reporting and disclosure have any relevance in the (so-called) controversial…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the extent to which social responsibility and social and environmental reporting and disclosure have any relevance in the (so-called) controversial industries. The literature is ambivalent over the extent to which it is expected to see corporate social responsibility and social disclosure employed as active legitimation strategies. However, the apparent importance of “responsible gambling” in both the literature and in gambling industry initiatives suggests, at least a priori, that the international industry is active in some degree of legitimation.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study examines the social and environmental disclosures of a sample of large companies in each of five countries over a three-year period using conventional content analysis.
Findings
The results are unexpected in that, although disclosure is dominated by employee- and director-related, other areas of social and environmental – and indeed economic – activity feature hardly at all. There is remarkably little disclosure around responsible gambling.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is a research note based on a range of samples across five countries and is, inevitably, tentative. The implications, albeit tentative, include the need to re-theorise corporate disclosure, especially in the controversial sectors.
Originality/value
The note adds to the accounting literature concerned with the controversial industries and contributes to the scarce social accounting research in the gambling sector. The authors hope that the research will be useful in guiding more focused and in-depth studies into this increasingly important and counter-intuitive area.