Research on internal audits of quality management systems is scarce, and no clear study exists that could guide practitioners in improving the auditing practice and help researchers advance existing knowledge. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review empirical research on internal audits of ISO 9001 to synthesise advice for increasing the value of internal audits and to establish a research agenda. The research method used in this paper is a systematic literature review. The result from a thematic analysis revealed two main causes for why internal audits should be improved, three main areas of what to improve, and three groups of suggestions for how audits can be improved. In conclusion, this review show that earlier research agrees on that internal audits focus too much on compliance and less on improvements, and that auditors should improve their knowledge, skills, and audit planning. The implications of this paper are consolidated in four propositions for future research, focusing the need for (1) more research contributing to both practice and theory, (2) enhanced focus on organisational needs and improvement opportunities, (3) changes in audit planning and auditor skills to enable process-oriented auditing, and (4) how to implement changes in internal auditing.

对质量管理体系内部审计的研究很少，没有明确的研究可以指导从业人员改进审计实践并帮助研究人员推进现有知识。因此，本文的目的是回顾关于 ISO 9001 内部审计的实证研究，以综合建议以提高内部审计的价值并制定研究议程。本文采用的研究方法是系统的文献综述。主题分析的结果揭示了为什么应该改进内部审计的两个主要原因、需要改进的三个主要领域以及关于如何改进审计的三组建议。总之，本次审查表明，早期的研究同意内部审计过多地关注合规性而较少关注改进，审计师应该提高他们的知识、技能和审计计划。本文的含义被整合为未来研究的四个命题，重点关注以下需求：（1）更多的研究有助于实践和理论，（2）更加关注组织需求和改进机会，（3）审计计划的变化和审计师技能，以实现面向过程的审计，以及 (4) 如何在内部审计中实施变革。