The Culture of Auditing Departments: A Research into the Cultural Characteristics of Different Types of Internal Auditing Departments in the Netherlands

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a large-scale research into the culture of internal auditing departments (IADs) within the Netherlands. This research shows that there are significant correlations between on the one hand the nature and scope of operations and staff composition of IADs, and on the other hand their culture. On the basis of statistical analyses’ results, two cultural models for IADs were developed, which are presented in this article.

Notes

i. G.H. Hofstede et al., “Measuring Organizational Cultures: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study Across Twenty Cases,” Administrative Science Quarterly 35, no. 2 (June 1990): 286–316.

ii. B. Adamec, L. M. Leinicke, and J. A. Ostrosky, “6 Cultural Pillars of Successful Audit Departments,” Internal Auditor 66, no. 2 (April 2009): 46–51.

iii. Hofstede et al., “Measuring Organizational Cultures.”

iv. E. H. Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership, 4th ed. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010).

v. Ibid.

vi. International Professional Practices Framework (Altamonte Springs, FL: The IIA Research Foundation, 2009).

vii. L. Paape, Corporate Governance: The Impact on the Role, Position, and Scope of Services of the Internal Audit Function (Rotterdam: Erasmus Research Institute of Management, 2007).

viii. L. Paape, “OA-MCSA: De Toekomst Van Operational Auditing,” in Hoe Goed Is Een Woord Op Zijn Tijd: Liber Amicorum Aangeboden Aan Willem Verhoog (Amsterdam: Koninklijk NIVRA, 1999), 293–304.

ix. J. H. M. Otten, P. A. Hartog, and R. W. A. De Korte, “Management Control Auditing: De Praktijk, Een Framework En Directe Toegevoegde Waarde,” in Management Control Auditing: Bijdragen Aan Assurance & Consulting Activities (Driebergen: Stichting Auditing.nl, 2011), 69–93.

x. Hofstede et al., “Measuring Organizational Cultures.”

xi. A. J. G. Driessen and A. Molenkamp, Operational Auditing: Een Managementkundige Benadering Van Internal Auditing, 3rd ed. (Deventer: Kluwer, 2004).

xii. Hofstede et al., “Measuring Organizational Cultures.”

xiii. P. Kline, Handbook of Psychological Testing, 2nd ed. (London: Routledge, 2000).

xiv. D. George and P. Mallery, SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference, 11.0 Update, 4th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2003).

xv. A. P. Field, Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, 3rd ed. (Londen: SAGE Publications, 2009).

xvi. Kline, Handbook of Psychological Testing.

xvii. P. A. Hartog and R. W. A. De Korte, “IT-Audit En Operational Audit: Eenmanszaken of Maten?,” EDP-Auditor, 2005.

xviii. Ibid.

xix. R. W. A. De Korte, “Internal/Operational Auditing Is in Een Volgend Stadium Van Ontwikkeling,” in Internal/Operational Auditing: Bijdragen Aan Governance & Control (Driebergen: Stichting Auditing.nl, 2003), 197–208.

xx. Hartog and De Korte, “IT-Audit En Operational Audit.”

xxi. Ibid.

xxii. De Korte, “Internal/Operational Auditing Is in Een Volgend Stadium Van Ontwikkeling.”

xxiii. Hartog and De Korte, “IT-Audit En Operational Audit.”

xxiv. Hofstede et al., “Measuring Organizational Cultures.”

xxv. Hartog and De Korte, “IT-Audit En Operational Audit.”

xxvi. Ibid.

xxvii. Ibid.

xxviii. Ibid.

xxix. Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership.

xxx. Ibid.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Björn Walrave

Björn Walrave, RO CIA, studied the culture of auditing departments during his Internal/Operational Auditing education at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is owner of a small consultancy firm called Auditability and works as a senior auditor for a large health insurer in the Netherlands. Furthermore, he is an editor for Audit Magazine, a Dutch magazine for audit practitioners. He frequently teaches on the field of Operational auditing at different universities. He can be reached at [email protected]