Investigating Factors Influencing the Internal Audit Effectiveness and Evaluating Internal Audit Role in Risk Management and Internal Controls of Keshavarzi Bank

The purpose of this study is investigating factors that influencing the internal auditing effectiveness and then evaluating the role of this department in risk management and internal controls of Keshavarzi bank. This research is applied and a descriptive. Required data were collected from 78 bank experts in different organizational categories including internal auditors and inspectors, senior managers and experts in charge of Keshavarzi bank by questionnaire in 2019. The research hypotheses were analyzed by using SPSS software and the statistical method of Smart PLS software with structural equation modeling. The results showed that the factors of internal auditing independence, internal auditor's competence, management support of internal audit, internal auditing size and the relationship of internal and independent auditors had a significant positive effect on the effectiveness of internal auditing. Also, the effectiveness of internal auditing improves the bank's internal controls but does not have a significant impact on improving bank risk management. Based on the results of this study, it is better to involve internal auditors with risk management in the risk assessment process, setting up an internal auditing program with a risk-based approach to identify the priorities of the internal auditors' activity, to providing a more effective internal audit in Keshavarzi bank.