An Examination Of Whether Incentive Compensation And Stock Ownership Affect Internal Auditor Objectivity.
This research investigates whether incentive compensation and stock ownership affect internal auditors' reporting decisions. The study also examines whether stock ownership by internal auditors affects their reporting decisions any differently than when they have incentive compensation based on stock prices. The randomized response technique was used to investigate these sensitive issues. Results revealed that stock ownership did not affect the reporting decisions, but when incentive compensation was tied to stock prices, internal auditors' reporting decisions were affected. This study's findings are important because if objectivity is impaired by these situations, the effectiveness of the internal audit function is reduced. This would be of great concern to investors and creditors who increasingly rely on the monitoring activities of internal auditors, and also of concern to those external auditors who rely on the work of internal auditors.