Impact of Auditing and Internal Control of Accountability of Public Sector
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To Determine the extent to which audited financial reports and internal control relate to the enterprise.
- To find out the possible effects on the enterprise where it done not adopt the concept of auditing and sound internal control system.
- To ascertain if public enterprises produces accounts and financial documents for audit.
- To determine whether audited reports come out yearly in Arrears making it possible for the use of financial data in management discussions.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Internal Auditing
Internal audit is a long-standing function and an effective tool of management in many organizations. It has been a recognized component of organizations in both the public and private sectors and in most industries for many years. Internal auditing is often seen as an overall monitoring activity with responsibility to management for assessing the effectiveness of control procedures which arc the responsibility of other functional managers. The internal audit function is not limited to the operation of any particular function within an organization. Rather, it is all-embracing and accordingly is structured in the organization as a separate entity responsible only to a high level of management. As Okezie(2004) puts it, the main objective of internal auditing is “to assist management in the effective discharge of their responsibilities by furnishing them with analysis, appraisal, recommendations and pertinent comments concerning the activities reviewed”. Internal auditing which is often seen as constituting a large and significant aspect of an organization’s financial control system is a vehicle to success and survival. According to Rittenberg and Schwieger (1997) “internal auditing is taking on increased importance in many of today’s global organizations by assisting management in evaluating controls and operations and thereby providing an Important element of global control”. Venables and lmpey (1991) also recognized the control role of internal auditing when they stated: It is generally recognized that the proper organization, staffing and methodology of internal audit presents the board with the best means of focusing on its obligation to ensure proper controls in the business However, the need for an internal audit function will vary depending on company specific factors including the scale, diversity and complexity of the company’s activities and the number of employees as well as cost/benefit considerations (ICAEW, 1999). Moreover, Venables and Impey (1991) had argued that for an internal audit function to be effective to enable an organization realize its full benefits, the function must have clearly defined objectives, authority, independence and appropriate resources.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to impact of auditing and internal control on the efficient performance of public enterprises.
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was on impact of auditing and internal control on the efficient performance of public enterprises. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of auditing and internal control on the efficient performance of public enterprises
Summary
This study was on impact of auditing and internal control on the efficient performance of public enterprises. Four objectives were raised which included: To Determine the extent to which audited financial reports and internal control relate to the enterprise, to find out the possible effects on the enterprise where it done not adopt the concept of auditing and sound internal control system, to ascertain if public enterprises produces accounts and financial documents for audit, to determine whether audited reports come out yearly in Arrears making it possible for the use of financial data in management discussions.. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of CASAR PAPER MILL LTD Ahliazu Mbaise Imo State. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up managers, administrative staffs, senior staffs and junior staffs was used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
This study which evaluated impact of auditing and internal control on the efficient performance of public enterprises observed the implicit existence of effective internal audit procedures to safeguard assets of organizations. It noted that adequate punishments existed for violations of internal audit procedure. However, the application of the available punishments for violations of internal audit procedures left much to be desired. The study believes that more effort should be directed at recruiting quality internal audit staff and updating their knowledge than engaging in interminable search for error – proof internal audit procedures.
Recommendation
- a) The recruitment process for internal audit staff should be thorough and transparent to ensure the enlistment of only qualified personnel.
- b) Management of Organizations should motivate staff of internal audit departments to painstakingly implement internal audit procedures.
- c) Management of Organization should co-operate with internal audit staff to promote effectiveness of the various control measures put in place.
- d) Regular training of the staff of internal audit departments is necessary to sharpen their skills of implementation of necessary procedures.
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