Assessment of Internal Auditing by Audit Committees‪.‬

INTRODUCTION Many companies have made large investments in internal auditing in recent years and they want to ensure that the internal audit function is adding value to their organizations. Corporate audit committees often have the main responsibility to determine whether internal audit is doing an effective job. One of the roles incumbent on audit committees in serving their company board of directors is to provide oversight of the internal audit function. For companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, audit committees are required to assist the board of directors in its oversight of the performance of the company's internal audit function (NYSE 2004, [section] 303A.07(c)(i)(A)(4)). This oversight role entails, among other duties, assessing internal audit independence and the work performance of internal auditing. In assessing internal auditing, audit committees should be familiar with assessment criteria, sources of information, and assessment procedures. The objective of this paper is to assist audit committee members with these assessments by discussing applicable professional audit standards, corporate audit charters, and relevant research findings.