The operational system of internal audit of Korea needs much to be improved compared to that of advanced countries. and due to the lack of independence and expertism, there appears a problem of insufficient internal control function It is pointed out...
The operational system of internal audit of Korea needs much to be improved compared to that of advanced countries. and due to the lack of independence and expertism, there appears a problem of insufficient internal control function It is pointed out that the audit system for local governments is not functioning properly due to various legal bases and redundant audits by audit subjects. That is, due to redundant audits by many auditing organizations such as the National Assembly, the Board of Audit & Inspection of Korea, joint audit of the central government, administrative audit of local assembly, the internal audits of cities and provinces, cause delays in administrative organizations' carrying out the works. In addition, due to the external audits by higher organizations, the independence and expertism of internal audit organization are far below expectation.
In this regard, based on the questionnaire survey and empirical analysis on the operational status of Jeollanam-do's international audit, this study aims to propose measures to activate the internal audit of local governments. The main contents of the study is to secure the independence of internal audit organizations, enhance the expertism of internal audit staff and improve the efficiency of internal audit activities. The major contents of this study result can be summarized as the following.
First, in terms of securing the independence of internal audit organizations, there is no organization to exclusively carry out internal audit and therefore, audit independence is not secured. In addition, the lack of status and authority of audit supervisors results in the restrictions on independent audit activities. As improvement measures, this study proposes to establish an independent internal audit organization in local governments; recruit audit supervisors through open competition and upgrade their position; and give them the authority to recommend audit staff.
Secondly, in terms of enhancing the expertism of internal audit staff, it appears that expertism needs to be improved because of the assignment of audit staffs who lack expert qualification and experience to internal audit organizations; the lack of audit-related training for staffs due to circular personnel operation; and the absence of external experts' participation in audit position and specific audit. As improvement measures, this study proposes to strengthen the transfer limit period of audit staffs; introduce audit rank, favorably treat a person with audit experience or license and training; and involve external experts in specific audits.
Thirdly, in terms of securing the efficiency of internal audit activities, due to the redundant external audits on local government by the Board of Audit & Inspection of Korea, the following problems arise: internal audit organizations can not fully carry out its own functions; the support and coordination on international audit organization by the Board of Audit & Inspection of Korea is not sufficient; and the audit results need to be opened to the public. As improvement measure, this study proposes to apply the single audit system to the same case that was audited already; strengthen the comprehensive audit function of internal audit organization; support expert education and advise on audit technics by the Board of Audit & Inspection of Korea; and establish a coordination committee in Board of Audit & Inspection of Korea for cooperation and coordination between internal audit organizations.
In order to activate the internal audit of local governments, this study proposes improvement measures for internal audit based on the empirical analysis on the operation status of Jeollanam-do's internal audit, Among the various improvement measures for internal audit system, it is necessary to apply the applicable measures to the operational improvement as soon as possible and for cases that need system improvement and legal revision, improvement measures need to be taken through proper procedure so that the internal audit may carry out its role.
Finally, the significance of this study lies in finding out the problems of internal audit operation status of Jeollanam-do's audit staffs, especially among local governments and proposing the improvement measures based on the result of empirical analysis. Internal audit and performance audit for Jeollanam-do and its cities and counties need to be further researched in the future.