Relationship between independence of internal audit quality and organizational performance in Nigerian universities

Abstract

The study examined direct relationship between Independence of Internal Audit Quality and organizational performance in Federal Universities in Nigeria. The research sample is focused basically on senior internal audit staff cadre working in 40 Nigerian Federal Universities, which cumulatively accounted for 400 respondents. The instrument used was found to be reliable with satisfactory internal consistency reliability. Data was collected and analysed using both descriptive for socio demographic variables and inferential statistics to determine relationship between research variables respectively. According to the outcome, Independence of Internal Audit Quality seems to be an important factor that determine Organizational Performance. Hence, the variable has a significant positive influence on organizational performance. The study concludes that there is strong correlation between the independence of internal audit quality and organizational performance, and that optimum performance in Nigerian Federal Universities is achievable once independence internal audit quality is utilized. On a general note, the study contributed to the advancement of internal auditing practice literature, by conducting a survey research in Nigerian public sector to disclose
relationship between independence of internal audit quality and performance among Nigerian Federal Universities. Therefore, it is recommended that independence of internal audit quality ought to be recognized as being among the most important elements for the attainment of effective organizational performance.