Auditing Top Management Available to Purchase

The need for internal audit to review the senior management control environment is stressed and the stages by which such a review should be organised and implemented are illustrated. It is argued that internal audit should examine the course the organisation′s senior management have set for it, should question its basic corporate reason for existing and competing, and should question the subordinate goals it has set for itself – this is regarded as truly “auditing the top”. However, in today′s environment, the likelihood of being able to conduct such a review in large organisations – where the need is probably greatest – is remote. Some of the reasons for this are explored.