Effects of Information Technology (IT) on Internal Audit in Southwest Nigeria Universities

Abstract

Abstract: This study examined the effects of information technology on internal audit in Southwest Nigeria Universities. Primary data were employed and questionnaires were distributed to the selected Universities. Out of 180 questionnaires, 152 questionnaires were filled and returned by the respondents. The study employed factor analysis and binary logit regression analysis as estimation techniques. The findings from factor analysis showed that Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett’s tests value was 0.786(78.6%) implying that the variables have a 78.6% variation in the data. The value of components variance revealed 62.750 on component 4 indicating that at component 4 there was 62.8% factor variation in the data. Nonetheless, the logit regression equation revealed that fraud discovery of IT (FD) has a positive and insignificant effect on internal audit. Also, IT effectiveness (ITE) revealed that ITE has a negative and significant effect on internal audit. Equally, asset recovery (AR) exhibited a negative and insignificant effect on internal audit. Furthermore, the external audit (EA) has a positive and insignificant effect on internal audit. This study concluded that a significant relationship exists between information technology and internal audit in Southwest Universities. It was recommended that Universities in Southwest should promote and encourage information technology in the internal audit department and also encourage the external users.