A Model for Internal Auditor Selection : The Case of a Trading Company in Hong Kong

Research on internal auditor selection has had limited exposure in the auditing literature. Recently Seol & Sarkis introduced a multi-attribute decision model, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP), for the process of internal auditor selection. The purpose of this paper is to extend and validate the proposed model by Seol & Sarkis in an actual internal auditor selection process. Real case information from a trading company in Hong Kong that has gone through a recent experience in hiring entry level internal auditors was used for the study. Data were collected using an intensive survey of the importance of each attribute/skill provided by the Competency Framework for Internal Auditing (CFIA) and followed by an actual application of such skills in a recent hiring experience. Results show the effectiveness of AHP and the comprehensive characteristics of the factors involved in the decision. Further implications of the method are also discussed in the paper