Abstract This study investigates the internationalization of internal audit functions by examining possible drivers of permanently employing internal auditors in foreign countries. As corporate scandals, the ongoing globalization, and increased environmental complexity necessitate new approaches to control, the internal audit function is faced with finding the most suitable organizational form for providing enterprise-wide assurance. After 14 in-depth interviews with internal audit practitioners survey data from 295 chief audit executives from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland is used to construct an exploratory model of internal audit function internationalization. Positive effects on the degree of the internal audit function’s internationalization are observed for company complexity, audit committee and supervisory board oversight, the use of local expertise, firm size, and a company’s being in the financial sector. A focus on the internal audit function’s cost efficiency is negatively associated with its degree of internationalization. This paper adds to the growing literature on internal auditing while filling a research gap on internal audit function staffing practices in the international context.

中文翻译：

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走出去：影响内部审计职能国际化的因素

摘要 本研究通过检查在国外永久聘用内部审计师的可能驱动因素来调查内部审计职能的国际化。由于公司丑闻、持续的全球化和环境复杂性的增加需要新的控制方法，内部审计职能面临着寻找最合适的组织形式来提供企业范围的保证。通过对来自德国、奥地利和瑞士的 295 位首席审计执行官的调查数据对内部审计从业人员进行 14 次深度访谈，构建内部审计职能国际化的探索模型。观察到公司复杂性、审计委员会和监事会监督对内部审计职能国际化程度的积极影响，当地专业知识的使用、公司规模以及公司在金融领域的地位。关注内部审计职能的成本效率与其国际化程度呈负相关。本文补充了越来越多的内部审计文献，同时填补了国际背景下内部审计职能人员配备实践的研究空白。