Breaking the Auditor’s Silence: Does CEO Openness Influence the Moral Courage of Internal Auditors? Evidence from Uganda
Purpose: Unethical behaviors such as fraud are continuously hurting organisations. Although internal auditors are expected to report unethical behaviours, such as fraud, when witnessed, some remain silent for fear of retaliation. Drawing on upper-echelon theory, this study examines whether the chie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Seisense
2023-07-01
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| Series: | SEISENSE Business Review |
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| Online Access: | https://journal.seisense.com/sbr/article/view/898 |
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| author | David Nyamuyonjo Daniel Kipkirong Tarus Joyce Komen |
| author_facet | David Nyamuyonjo Daniel Kipkirong Tarus Joyce Komen |
| author_sort | David Nyamuyonjo |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Purpose: Unethical behaviors such as fraud are continuously hurting organisations. Although internal auditors are expected to report unethical behaviours, such as fraud, when witnessed, some remain silent for fear of retaliation. Drawing on upper-echelon theory, this study examines whether the chief executive officer's (CEO's) openness is associated with internal auditors’ moral courage to speak out on ethical concerns.
Design: This explanatory study collected data from 128 internal auditors in formal financial institutions using structured questionnaires and used partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis.
Findings: CEOs' openness to internal auditors' recommendations is positively associated with internal auditors’ moral courage.
Practical implications: CEOs may appreciate listening to internal auditors as a way of motivating them to speak. Furthermore, boards of governors can encourage CEOs to show openness to internal auditor recommendations.
Originality: This study adds to the scant empirical evidence on the factors that influence internal auditors’ moral courage. The empirical findings further confirm that contrary to the idea that internal auditors are independent of CEOs, CEOs influence internal auditors, thereby validating the broader applicability of upper-echelon theory.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c167f054adfe471d8aac0db2a59dc98f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2788-7561 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Seisense |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SEISENSE Business Review |
| spelling | doaj-art-c167f054adfe471d8aac0db2a59dc98f2024-12-26T06:18:02ZengSeisenseSEISENSE Business Review2788-75612023-07-013110.33215/sbr.v3i1.898Breaking the Auditor’s Silence: Does CEO Openness Influence the Moral Courage of Internal Auditors? Evidence from UgandaDavid Nyamuyonjo0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4407-9446Daniel Kipkirong Tarus1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8473-5981Joyce Komen 2Moi University, Eldoret, KenyaMoi University, Eldoret, KenyaMoi University, Eldoret, Kenya Purpose: Unethical behaviors such as fraud are continuously hurting organisations. Although internal auditors are expected to report unethical behaviours, such as fraud, when witnessed, some remain silent for fear of retaliation. Drawing on upper-echelon theory, this study examines whether the chief executive officer's (CEO's) openness is associated with internal auditors’ moral courage to speak out on ethical concerns. Design: This explanatory study collected data from 128 internal auditors in formal financial institutions using structured questionnaires and used partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis. Findings: CEOs' openness to internal auditors' recommendations is positively associated with internal auditors’ moral courage. Practical implications: CEOs may appreciate listening to internal auditors as a way of motivating them to speak. Furthermore, boards of governors can encourage CEOs to show openness to internal auditor recommendations. Originality: This study adds to the scant empirical evidence on the factors that influence internal auditors’ moral courage. The empirical findings further confirm that contrary to the idea that internal auditors are independent of CEOs, CEOs influence internal auditors, thereby validating the broader applicability of upper-echelon theory. https://journal.seisense.com/sbr/article/view/898Internal auditmoral courageCEO opennessupper-echelon theorysilence,Uganda |
| spellingShingle | David Nyamuyonjo Daniel Kipkirong Tarus Joyce Komen Breaking the Auditor’s Silence: Does CEO Openness Influence the Moral Courage of Internal Auditors? Evidence from Uganda SEISENSE Business Review Internal audit moral courage CEO openness upper-echelon theory silence, Uganda |
| title | Breaking the Auditor’s Silence: Does CEO Openness Influence the Moral Courage of Internal Auditors? Evidence from Uganda |
| title_full | Breaking the Auditor’s Silence: Does CEO Openness Influence the Moral Courage of Internal Auditors? Evidence from Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Breaking the Auditor’s Silence: Does CEO Openness Influence the Moral Courage of Internal Auditors? Evidence from Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Breaking the Auditor’s Silence: Does CEO Openness Influence the Moral Courage of Internal Auditors? Evidence from Uganda |
| title_short | Breaking the Auditor’s Silence: Does CEO Openness Influence the Moral Courage of Internal Auditors? Evidence from Uganda |
| title_sort | breaking the auditor s silence does ceo openness influence the moral courage of internal auditors evidence from uganda |
| topic | Internal audit moral courage CEO openness upper-echelon theory silence, Uganda |
| url | https://journal.seisense.com/sbr/article/view/898 |
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