Scientific Mapping of the Literature on Internal Audit Quality

This study aims to conduct a literature review on internal audit quality literature using bibliometrics methods, including time-trend and impact analysis of studies, journals, authors, institutions, and countries. We also identified Conceptual, Intellectual, and Social structure of this line of research. To fulfill our purpose, we applied a bibliometrics approach to 92 research papers from 1993-2023, which we acquired from Web of Science (WoS) database.IntroductionA review of the literature in the field of internal audit quality shows the variety of topics in the research conducted in the past years. Therefore, a systematic review of the research is conducted in this field with the intention of creating a deeper understanding of the research on internal audit quality for researchers who intend to study in this field, and drawing some potential future research paths for this field.The main research questions are as follows:1) What is the trend of studies conducted in the field of internal audit quality? (Trend analysis)2) Which are the most influential articles, authors, journals, research institutions, and countries in the field of internal audit quality research? (Impact analysis)3) Which topics form the body of knowledge of internal audit quality research? (Conceptual structure)4) Which topics in the field of internal audit quality have been sufficiently developed and which are still developing and need further investigation? (Conceptual structure)5) What are the cooperation networks between authors, research institutions, and countries in conducting internal audit quality research? (Intellectual and social structure)Literature Review2.1. Determinants of internal audit qualityBased on previous research, the personal characteristics of the internal auditors (Erasmus and Coetzee, 2018), the support and power of senior management (Jiang et al., 2018), Organizational independence and commitment, the time pressure imposed on the internal auditor (Samagaio and Felício, 2022), the use of information technology by internal auditors (Deribe and Regasa, 2014), the quality of the audit committee's performance and its participation in internal audit planning and reporting (Abdullah, 2018), the size of the internal audit (Erasmus and Coetzee, 2018), and the uncertainty and complexity of the company's environment (Jiang et al., 2018) affect the internal audit quality.2.1. Concequences of internal audit qualityAccording to previous research, the high-quality internal audit can affect the quality of corporate governance (Lenz and Hahn, 2015), internal controls quality (IIA, 2015), earnings management and financial reporting quality (Prawitt et al., 2009), external audit fee (Mat Zail et al., 2015), and external audit delay (Abbott et al., 2012b).MethodologyIn this paper, the bibliometric analysis is used in order to examine the trend and impact analysis, as well as analyze the conceptual, intellectual, and social structure of the internal audit quality research field. Also, in order to implement bibliometric methods, the Bibliometrix package is used in R.ResultsOur findings indicate an increasing trend in the number of research studies on internal audit quality literature. We also document that Prawitt et al. (2009) is the most cited paper; David A. Wood from Brigham Young University is the most influential author; Accounting Review is the most influential journal; Managerial Auditing Journal is the most productive journal; Brigham Young University is the most prolific institution; and the USA is the most influential country in this research field. "Corporate Governance", "Internal Controls", "Audit Effectiveness", and "Audit Competency" are among the dynamic topics that are well-developed in internal audit quality literature. "Earnings Management" and "Risk Management" are emerging topics, and we predict an increase in the number of studies on them in the years to come. We also argue that although "Accountability" is a critical topic in internal audit quality literature, it can still be developed further in future research.DiscussionThe results indicate the concepts of "corporate governance", "audit committees", "earnings management", "internal controls", and "financial reporting quality" are the most frequent keywords in this field. Repetition of these concepts in the articles of this field can emphasize the role of high-quality internal audit in a suitable structure of corporate governance, indicating its role in strengthening internal controls and preventing managers’ misconduct, and ultimately increasing the transparency and quality of financial reporting. Also, "earnings management" and "risk management" are hot topics and of particular interest to researchers and academics. It is expected that future research will focus on these two topics. Also, the analysis of the thematic map of keywords in the research field of internal audit quality shows the important role of "accountability" in improving the quality of internal audit and its potential for development and growth in future research. The global map of countries' cooperation in the field of internal audit quality shows that the most scientific cooperation of countries in the field of internal audit quality research is dedicated to some developing countries. It seems that the quality of internal audit in these countries has a double importance in the eyes of researchers and professionals.ConclusionThe findings of this paper can provide researchers with an insight to conduct studies on the quality of internal audit in the future. This research has several contributions. This research is the first attempt to use bibliometric methods in order to review the internal audit quality literature. The results of this research not only provide a comprehensive picture of the research in this field but also help in the direction of future studies by introducing the hot topics in the field. Also, researchers can refer to the results of this research in choosing co-authors or research institutions to conduct joint research in the field of internal audit quality.The professionals can use our results to improve the quality of internal audits by knowing the related key issues and the researchers and sources who have produced more reliable documents.