Assessment of the effectiveness of the internal audit function in higher learning institutions: a case of the University of Dar es salaam.

The study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the internal audit function in Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) in Tanzania using University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) as a case study. Specifically, the study intended to assess the competence of the Internal Audit Staff, the composition of the Internal Audit Unit, the independence of the Internal Audit Unit and the management support to the Internal Audit Unit in the studied organizations. The study applied quantitative approach research design to answer the research equations. The study involved about 60 staff at University of Dar es salaam, including Management staff, Accountants and Auditor. The main findings show that most of the internal audit staffs are professionally incompetent. This is attributed to the fact that only four staff attained higher level of professional qualification ( Certified Public Accountant). Out of these, only two have been registered by the National Board of Accountant and Auditors (NBAA) as authorized auditors. In terms of composition, there are only eight(8) auditors which are regarded as few. With regard to independence, the unit is not sufficiently independent as it report to the Accounting officers (AO) who is subjected to audit. In terms of management support, the findings show that there is a moderate management support to the Internal Audit and these are mainly in the form of training and development, facilities and response to the audit queries. Based on these findings, overall the Internal Audit Unit of the studied organization is not effective. It is therefore recommended that, level of competence, composition, independence, and management support need to be improved sa as to enhance effectiveness of Internal Audit Unit. In particular, more training need to be provided to internal auditors, number of staff need to be increased, reporting structure needs amendment or review and management is recommended to provide more support to the Internal Audit Unit. These findings contribute to the agency and institutional theoretical frameworks