Identifying the Weaknesses of the Internal Control System of Iranian Banks

The system of internal controls is the main foundation of banks' governance system and is established to guide and supervise banking activities in order to achieve their goals and transparency and accountability. Despite the importance and necessity of the effective functioning of the internal control system in banks, no research has been conducted to identify its weaknesses in Iran. Accordingly, considering the consequences that the weaknesses of the internal control system can have for the banking system, this study, aims to identify the weaknesses of the internal control system of Iranian banks. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, first, the operational audit reports of banks were reviewed. Experts were then interviewed to identify other weaknesses in the banks' internal control system. Finally, the experts' opinions about the weaknesses were collected through a questionnaire and their consensus on each of the weaknesses was examined using the fuzzy Delphi method. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the accuracy of clustering in this study. Based on the results of reviewing banks' operational audit reports and interviewing experts, a total of 64 weaknesses were identified. The findings indicate that 60 of the identified weaknesses gained a general consensus in favor of the Delphi group, and by factor analysis, the accuracy of the clustering of items was confirmed. The findings of this study can help to identify the current situation and plan to address the weaknesses of the internal control system of Iranian banks.