The Role of Internal Audit in Enhancing Accountability in Tertiary Institutions in Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

The focus of this paper is to critically examine the role of internal audit in enhancing accountability in tertiary institutions in Kogi-State Nigeria with a view to finding out the extent to which effective internal audit role is of significant benefit to public sector management or could be used as an instrument to improve public sector management. The survey method of generating data were employed and data were collected via a well-structured and tested questionnaires administered on the staff of internal audit department of some selected tertiary institutions in Kogi State as well as the review of available documents and records. The data collected were analyzed using the descriptive statistics and ANOVA through the use of SPSS 20.0 version. The analysis of the responses gathered revealed that internal auditors are not independent from management in the course of performing their duties. The study therefore recommends that internal auditors should be independent from management through promulgation of the law that would guarantee internal auditor’s independence via recognition of the ethics guiding the accounting profession in order to promote accountability.

Keywords: Auditing, Internal Auditing, Internal Auditor, Accountability, Internal Control System, Public Sector.