Factors Associated with the Use of and Compliance with the IIA Standards: A Study of Anglo‐culture CAEs

Chief audit executives (CAEs) are required to use and comply with The International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing ( Standards ). However, this study finds that 13.5 percent of CAEs in Anglo‐culture countries do not use the Standards . Furthermore, of those who use the Standards a significant number fail to comply with specific standards. Multivariate tests of data from CAEs in this study show that ‘Length of IIA membership’ and ‘Internal auditing certification’ are positively associated with use. Other significant variables are ‘Superseded by local/government regulations or standards,’‘Not perceived as value added by management/board’ and ‘Compliance not expected in the country’ that are inversely related to use. The length of training is also positively associated with compliance, while other significant variables are internal audit certification, ‘Standards are too costly,’‘Not perceived as value added by management/board’ and ‘Inadequate internal audit staff’ that are negatively associated with compliance. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of these results for practice and research.