PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the current roles and responsibilities of the internal audit (IA) function and the factors perceived to be necessary to ensure its effectiveness. The current performance evaluation practices of IA are also examined.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured interviews were utilised to elicit the perceptions of key corporate governance actors about the evolving role of IA, as well as IA effectiveness, in terms of its design, measurement and evaluation.FindingsThe results of the study suggest significant expansion and refocus of the role of IA and perceptions of its effectiveness. However, the findings also suggest that performance evaluation mechanisms of IA have not evolved contemporaneously. The misalignment between the role and evaluation gives rise to difficulty in assessing the extent to which IA functions are meeting stakeholders' expectations.Practical implicationsThe findings are useful in informing the deliberations of regulators and standard setters, as well as providing a benchmark for internal auditors and audit committees. The insights are also relevant for external auditors who are required to consider various aspects of corporate governance, including the objectivity and quality of IA.Originality/valueThe use of semi‐structured interviews facilitates an in‐depth insight and understanding of the perceptions of roles, effectiveness and evaluation of IA and adds depth to the predominantly questionnaire‐based survey approach of prior studies.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature and extent of internal audit functions’ (IAFs) involvement in environmental, social and governance assurance (ESG) and consulting in Australia. To identify emerging priorities, and the profession’s capacity to respond to these, the paper also explores internal audit practitioners’ perceptions of the current and future importance of these issues and the adequacy of their skills and expertise in meeting the challenges associated with their involvement in these areas. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 100 Chief Audit Executives and internal audit service provider partners through a survey. Findings – Governance issues are a key area of focus for respondents’ assurance and consulting efforts, followed by social and environmental issues, respectively. While governance issues are perceived to be of greatest current importance to IAFs, environmental issues are most commonly expected to increase in importance over the next five years, and are reported to be in greatest need of further development of IAFs’ skills and expertise. Research limitations/implications – As the corporate landscape and expectations around transparency and accountability increase, the internal audit profession needs to address the current perceived skills gap in their ability to provide assurance and consulting on ESG issues to ensure their continued relevance and ability to meet stakeholders’ needs and expectations in providing effective integrated assurance and in contributing to internal improvements. Originality/value – This paper provides initial empirical evidence of the nature and extent of internal audit’s involvement in ESG assurance and consulting.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how the roles, characteristics, expectations and evaluation practices of audit committees have adapted to regulatory change and what practices are most conducive to effective audit committees. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses semi-structured interviews with audit committee chairs and chief audit executives. Findings – While new regulation is a primary driver of changes in the roles of audit committees, the audit committee’s role has evolved beyond regulatory requirements. Audit committees are taking a more active role in organisational governance and performance in key areas such as risk management. However, while audit committees have a clear concept of what characteristics committee members require, conceptual frameworks and mechanisms for evaluating the performance of committees and their members remain underdeveloped. Research limitations/implications – The responses of audit committees in Australia to broader regulatory trends suggest that more research is required into how audit committees function in practice, and into developing new frameworks for evaluating the committees’ performance. This paper provides an in-depth exploration of key areas of audit committee performance, and identifies aspects that might be further investigated. Practical implications – The paper identifies key attributes of effective audit committees and especially the characteristics of audit committee members. The paper also identifies a need to improve – and in many cases create – performance evaluation frameworks and mechanisms. Given the international regulatory trend towards greater reliance on audit committees to improve governance, more policy attention is required on developing guidelines and assessment processes that evaluate whether audit committees are fulfilling their legislative mandate in practice. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the relatively new and more specific discussion on reviewing and evaluating the performance of the board and its subcommittees.

Despite evidence of internal audit's expanding role in sustainability matters, there is limited understanding of factors associated with the extent of internal audit's involvement in these areas. This study examines the impact of governance factors, internal audit function characteristics, and organizational sustainability practices on the extent of internal audit's involvement in environmental and social assurance and consulting.The results suggest that management support and external reporting of sustainability information are key factors associated with internal audit's involvement in environmental and social assurance and consulting activities. The results also indicate that the extent of internal audit's involvement in assurance and consulting are not necessarily driven by a homogeneous set of factors. Future research could take a more nuanced approach to investigating different aspects of internal audit's roles both within the sustainability context and more broadly.

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