Author(s): Mvelo Comfort Siyaya, Ayogeboh Epizitone, Lulu F. Jali, Oludayo. O. Olugbara
The desire to produce an effective internal auditing system to meet the demands of different institutions has caused stiff competition in the auditing market. This has led to a dilemma in effectively deciding on which internal auditing system to implement, whether an in-house system, to outsource services to an external service provider, or even a combination of both services. There are several determinants already identified in literature that could affect the effectiveness of internal auditing to successfully realise its core values. However, little research has been conducted on the validation of these determinants in the context of higher education institutions of learning. Hence, this study seeks to investigate the determinants of internal auditing effectiveness in a public higher education institution using the method of principal component analysis. Consequently, 17 principal components with an eigenvalue of unity were obtained based on the principal component analysis. The study results further afford a significant insight to both suppliers (auditor) of internal auditing services and customers of these services (auditee) regarding the effectiveness of these determinants, extent of internal audit effects, and significant performance indicators in a public higher education institution.