The Role of Internal Audit in improving Governance in South African Public Sector.

Abstract

This study investigated the role that internal audit functions play in improving governance in South African public sector. According to the International Standards for Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, internal audit functions should review the adequacy and effectiveness of their organisation’s governance processes and make recommendations for improvement. Recently in South Africa, governance processes in both the public and private sectors have encountered serious challenges that let to closure of some organisations as well as forced retrenchments. Amongst the causes of these challenges, is the corruption that has manifested in most public enterprises including DENEL, South African Airways, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and Eskom. The corruption was so severe that the entire South African economy almost collapsed, and unemployment rate rose to the levels it has never reached before, at 34%. The study was conducted with a view of determining how internal functions can assist the South African public enterprises to improve governance and overcome the recent challenges that occurred as a resulted of poor governance. The study was conducted through a quantitative research approach where data was collected using survey questionnaires on a sample of 80 respondents.