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Browsing BCOM Research Projects by Author "Kahoro, Susan Njoki"

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    The Role of internal auditors’ independence in enhancing transparency and accountability in real estate companies in Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2022) Kahoro, Susan Njoki
    The goal of the study was to see how the independence of the internal audit function affects transparency and accountability. Internal audit staff training, the audit committee, and enterprise risk management were used to quantify independence as an independent variable and transparency and accountability as a dependent variable. The study was guided by the agency theory, the theory of inspired confidence, and the institutional theory. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used in this study. The analysis was based on 356 real estate businesses in Kenya. The study's sample respondents included 188 companies, with each company's chief audit officer and internal audit professionals being counted as a participant. To acquire survey data from the Kenyan real estate enterprises, a quantitative technique was employed, utilizing structured questionnaires. The proposition that the presence of an independent internal audit function in a business is positively associated with transparency and accountability was tested. According to the findings of the study, a total of 169 respondents assisted to confirm that internal audit training, the audit committee, and enterprise risk management all have a positive impact on transparency and accountability within real estate enterprises in Kenya. The audit committee, on the other hand, as part of the recommendations presented in the study, should meet with the head of internal audit at least once a year, without management present, and ensure that the head of internal audit has full access to the board chairman and the audit committee, as well as being held accountable to the audit committee, as these were noted to be lacking in a number of companies. In order to increase transparency and accountability, organizations should also emphasize the need of internal audit independence. Some of the limitations faced included the fact that respondents took an unusually long time to complete and return the questionnaire, some questionnaires had to be discarded because some respondents did not completely fill out the forms, and finally, some respondents did not participate in the data collection procedure because they did not believe the information would be used solely for academic purposes.