1 Information Technology and Its Implications for Internal Auditing: An Empirical Study on Saudi Organizations

The main objectives this study are to investigate empirically the impact of emerging information technology (IT) for the internal auditors ' activities, and to examine whether the IT evaluations performed in Saudi organizations vary, based on evaluation objectives and/or organizational characteristics. A survey, using a self-administered questionnaire, is conducted to achieve these objectives. Seven hundred questionnaires were randomly distributed on a sample of Saudi organizations located in five main Saudi cities. Two hundreds and eighteen valid and usable questionnaires – representing 30.7 % response rate – were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 15. The results of the study revealed that internal auditors need to enhance their knowledge and skills of computerized information systems (CIS) for the purpose of planning, directing, supervising and reviewing the work performed. The results of study are consistent with Hermanson et al. (2000) that internal auditors focus primarily on traditional IT risks and controls, such as IT data integrity, privacy, and security, asset safeguarding, and application processing. Less attention has been directed to system development and acquisition activities. The internal auditors ' performance of IT evaluations is associated with several factors including: the audit objective, industry type, the number of IT audit specialists on the internal audit staff, and the existence of new CIS. The findings of this study have important implications for managers and internal auditors. It will enable them to better understanding and evaluating their computerized accounting systems