Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 4

SAMPLE RESEARCH PROPOSAL PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE IN PUBLICINSTITUTIONS OF GHANA: THE ROLE OF THEINTERNAL AUDITOR Table of Contents Introduction

3Background of the Study 3Problem Statemen4Research Questions: .4Hypothesis: 4Objectives .5Significance of 8Population Study .5Literature Review 6Definition of Internal Audit6Role 8Sampling and Sampling Technique 8Data Collection 9Data collection instrument 9Data Analysis12 Timescale12Limitations ..12References Research proposal SB/MAC/08/0005 Promoting Good Governance in Public Institutionsof Ghana: The Role of the Internal Auditor Introduction All over the world there is a realization that the Internal Audit activity has the potential to provide hitherto unparalleled services to management in the conduct of their dutie s. This potential has been turned into a challenge and embodied in the new definition o f I n t e r n a l Auditing from the Institute of Internal Auditors (the IIA). Background of the Study The Government of the Republic of Ghana by the Internal Audit Agency A ct, 2003 (Act 658)established the Internal Audit Agency as an apex oversight body to co-ordinate, facilitate and provide quality assurance for Internal Audit activities within the public sector (Section 16 of Act6 5 8 ) . T h e Internal Auditors value lies in how well he has been able to contribute t o t h e achievement of the overall organisational objective. The Internal Auditor should constantly seek t o m a k e h i m s e l f r e l e v a n t t o h i s o r g a n i s a t i o n b y p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t w i l l m a k e management take decisions that impact positively on their ability to achieve the organisationalgoals.However, according to research and surveys conducted by Deloitte & Touche (2004) and theI n t e r n a l A u d i t A g e n c y o f G h a n a ( 2 0 0 6 ) , m u c h o f t h e w o r k o f I n t e r n a l A u d i t h a s b e e n v e r y restrictive in terms of scope. This needs to be addressed if the required return on investment in the Internal Audit activity is to be attained. Research proposal SB/MAC/08/0005 Page 3 Problem Statement Public sector managers do not support Internal Audit. The Internal Audit function i n t h e Ghanaian public sector faces a perception and, to some extent, a credibility problem as a value-adding unit of the organisation. The Internal Audit Agency (2006) believes that the importanceof Internal Audit is "shrouded in obscurity. This unfortunate background continues to play d o w n t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f I n t e r n a l A u d i t a s a k e y f u n c t i o n t h a t c a n s t r e n g t h e n t h e o v e r s i g h t responsibility of the governing body. This reflects in the management attitude towards the Internal Auditor. Most often than not the budget of the Internal Audit Unit, if any exist at all, iswoefully inadequate to enable them meet the resource requirements of their annual audit plans.Internal Auditors are seen more as fault finders rather than solution providers and partners in theGovernments strive for organisational excellence. Management Question: Why do public sector managers fail to support the InternalAudit function and what can be done to curb it? Research Questions: 1.What account for the low support for Internal Audit by public sector managers? 2 . W h a t a c t i o n s a r e n e c e s s a r y t o g e t t h e s u p p o r t o f m a n a g e m e n t o f i n t e r n a l a u d i t i n g i n t h e public sector? 3. Is there a link between the qua lity of service the Internal Auditor provides for h i s organisation and the attitude of managers towards the Internal Audit function? Hypothesis: There is no relationship between the quality service Internal Auditors provide for their organisations and the attitude of managers towards the Internal Audit function. Research proposal SB/MAC/08/0005 Objectives The objectives of the research project are to: 1.

Examine the factors responsible for the low support for the Internal Audit Activity by managers of public institutions. 2. Identify specific actions required to secure support of managers for the Internal Audit Activity. 3. Establish the relationship between quality of service and support of managers for InternalAudit. Significance of Study The significance of the study will be to:1 . I m p r o v e p u b l i c u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e r o l e o f t h e I n t e r n a l A u d i t o r i n t h e a c h i e v e m e n t o f organisational objectives.2.Improve literature on public sector Internal Auditing in Ghana. 3 . F u l f i l l t h e M B A r e q u i r e m e n t . Research proposal SB/MAC/08/0005 Page 5 References The Institute of Internal Auditors (the IIA). (2007), The Professional Practices Framework. Florida, U.S.: The IIA Research Foundation.Spencer, P. K. H. (2003), The Internal Auditing Handbook. U.K. City University Press.Deloitte & Touche Enterprise Risk Services & Institute of Internal Auditors UK and Ireland(2004), The Value Agenda. Available atwww.iia.org.uk , (Accessed on 14 April 2009).Internal Audit Agency, Republic of Ghana. (2007), Annual Report to the Office of the President .Accra: the IAAInternal Audit Agency, Republic of Ghana. (2006), Championing Excellence in Universities of Ghana: The Role of the Internal Auditor. A paper presented to the Associati on of theInternal Auditors of the Universities of Ghana at their annual congress in 2006. Accra: Ransford Agyei, Deputy Director-General.Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007), Research Methods for Business Students Harlow, England: FT Prentice HallB l u m b e r g , B . , C o o p e r , D . R . , a n d S c h i n d l e r , P . S . ( 2 0 0 5 ) Busin Data Analysis The responses to the structured close-ended questions will be rated in p e r c e n t a g e s . T h e percentage of respondents for each alternative will be given and analysed. The data collectedwill be analysed using the computer software known as Statistical Package for Service Solution(SPSS). Timescale June July 2009: review of literature August 2009: draft literature review September 2009: agree research strategy with supervisor October 2009: agree formal access to organisations for collection of primary data November 2009: compile, pilot and review questionnaire December 2009 - January 2010: administer questionnaire February 2010: final collection of questionnaire March 2010: data analysis

April May 2010: final writing of project report. Limitations The researcher cannot cover all the ten regions of Ghana. The research will therefore be restricted to fiveout of the ten regions. Literature Review The Government of Ghana has taken a proactive step in establishing the Internal Audit Agency(The Agency) by an Act of Parliament in 2003. The IAA is mandated to co -ordinate, facilitateand provide quality assurance for internal audit activities within the public sector institutions (theI A A A c t 2 0 0 3 , A c t 6 5 8 ) . T h e A g e n c y h a s f o r m u l a t e d t h r e e s t r a t e g i e s w h i c h i t i s c u r r e n t l y pursuing to improve the image of the Internal Audit function in the public sector. These are asfollows:1.Professional Practice Framework which aims at developing key docu ments and templatesf o r u s e b y t h e I n t e r n a l A u d i t f u n c t i o n s u c h t h e I n t e r n a l A u d i t R e g u l a t i o n s , I n t e r n a l Auditing Standards, Audit Programmes Internal Audit Charter and Annual Audit Planningtemplates.2 . H u m a n R e s o u r c e D e v e l o p m e n t w h i c h s e e k s t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e r e c r u i t m e n t , t r a i n i n g a n d development of internal auditors to be proficient in applying internal audit standards, procedures and techniques in performing engagements.3.Quality Assurance and Improvement which addresses the issue of continues improvement in the performance of the internal audit activity. Definition of Internal Audit According to the Institute of Internal Auditors, internal auditing is an independent, objectivea s s u r a n c e a n d c o n s u l t i n g a c t i v i t y d e s i g n e d t o a d d v a l u e a n d i m p r o v e a n o r g a n i z a t i o n s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives b y bringing a systematic disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, andgovernance processes (March 2007).This definition actually seeks to demonstrate the depth and breadth of the internal audit activitywithin an institution as against the previous orientation of reviewing payment transactions over t h e y e a r s . M o d e r n i n t e r n a l a u d i t c o v e r s ( o r s h o u l d c o v e r ) a l l a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n . Therefore the scope of internal audit is no longer restricted to the processes and systems in theaccounts and finance function. Role of the Internal Auditor in governance The value of the modern day internal auditor lies in his ability to help management to achieve itsobjectives. According to a research jointly conducted by Deloitte & Touche and the Institute of Internal Auditors, U.K., (2004) improved attitudes toward internal audit are built on a belief thatinternal audit functions are creating greater value for their organisations.Governance refers to all the strategic plans of the organisation to demonstrate its commitment toq u a l i t y a n d e x c e l l e n c e . T h e y r e f l e c t t h e s t r a t e g i c t h i n k i n g a n d orientation of the Board andManagement to achieve the objectives of the o r g a n i s a t i o n . H o w e v e r , e v e r y d e c i s i o n a n d programme carries with it an element of risk of nonachievement, due to uncertainties associatedwith the implementation of programs. Some of the risks are reputational, financial, operational,and information technology related. It would therefore be appropriate to have a structured way of identifying events that would impact negatively on the ability of management to achieve their objectives and also to take advantage of opportunities and other events that could be leveraged toachieve those same objectives. i.e. an integrated risk management framework that is embeddedi n t h e p l a n n i n g p r o c e s s o f t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n s . I n t e r n a l A u d i t o r s a r e e x p e r t s i n c r e a t i n g a n d promoting a risk management culture that is necessary to the effective implementation of the risk management framework. They can also assist in monitoring the framework. Methodology This section presents an overview of the methods to used in the study. Areas covered include theresearch design, population, sample and sampling techniques, data collection and analysis. Research Design

The study will involve the evaluating the role of Internal Auditors in the good governance of theorganisations in the public sector. Consequently, the research will be designed to achieve theobjectives set out by the researcher. Population The public sector of Ghana is the biggest employer of Internal Auditors and involves severalorganisations including Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The public sector alsoincludes Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies MMDAs). The targeted population for the study thus includes the following: 1. Chief Directors and Directors of all MDAs. 2. Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers and other staff of MMDAs. 3. Heads and staff of internal Audit Depar tments (IADs) of MDAs and MMDAs. Sampling and Sampling Technique It obvious from the definition of the population above that a census is not feasible in this study.Accordingly, the researcher will adopt the survey type of research in which a sample from the Research proposal SB/MAC/08/0005 target population will be used for the study. In total, a sample of 185 elements will be selectedfrom a targeted population of 300. Details of the sample are as follows: 15 Chief Directors and 30 Directors of MDAs. 20 Coordinating Directors, 20 Finance Officers and 20 other staff of MMDAs. 40 Heads of IDAs and 40 Internal Auditors of MDAs and MMDs.The study will adopt a multistage stratified sampling method to select elements. First, the population will be divided into MDAs and MMDAs. Next, the MDAs will be grouped into M i n i s t r i e s , D e p a r t m e n t s a n d Agencies and the MMDAs into Metropolitan, Municipal andDistricts. This will ensure a f a i r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f e a c h g r o u p o f i n s t i t u t i o n s s i n c e t h e i r operations are significantly different. Data Collection The focus of study is on attitudes and perception and the importance of primary data cannot beo v e r - e m p h a s i s e d . H o w e v e r , s e c o n d a r y d a t a w i l l a l s o b e c o l l e c t e d t o a u g m e n t t h e s t u d i e s . Before the actual d ata collect the researcher will collect introductory letter from the School of Business of the University of Cape Coast to the sampled institutions. The initial visit to thes e l e c t e d i n s t i t u t i o n s w i l l t h e r e f o r e b e t o i n t r o d u c e h i m s e l f , f a m i l i a r i z e h i m s e l f w i t h t h o s e institutions as well as seek their consent for the study.

Вам также может понравиться