An International Meeting of the American Accounting Association American Accounting Association 2006 Annual Meeting August 6–9, 2006 Washington, D.C.

Vikram Desai
University of Central Florida

Robin W. Roberts
University of Central Florida

Rajendra Srivastava
University of Kansas

Abstract: The primary purpose of this paper is to advance research in internal audit (IA) evaluation by developing an IA assessment model that considers interrelationships among specific factors used by external auditors when evaluating the strength of the IA function:competence, work performance, and objectivity. Our model generates an overall judgment concerning the strength of the IA function that can aid the external auditor in assessing the reliability of a client’s internal control system. The IA assessment model is developed using the evidential network approach of Srivastava et al. (1996) under the belief –function framework.By using this framework, we overcome limitations of prior research regarding the modelling of interrelationships among factors and regarding difficulties in application. The results of our analysis revealed that modelling the “And” relationship is essential for assessing the strength of the IA function.

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