Characteristics of internal audits and fraud detection

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) has changed the internal audit environment. Changes include introducing a new type of audit task and an overall increase in the structure of the internal audit environment. Many companies have created structured SOX audit programs in coordination with their external auditor in order to meet SOX requirements efficiently and effectively (Martin and Sanders 2009). Internal audit professionals have expressed concern that internal auditors trained only in the post-SOX environment have a different skill set than internal auditors trained in the pre-SOX period (Pryal 2008). The focus of this research is on the effects of internal audit structure, audit type, external auditor approval of audit work programs, and internal auditor experience on the likelihood of internal auditors suspecting and investigating fraud in a fraud situation.