Whistleblowing practice in the public sector and internal audit effectiveness

The practice of whistleblowing has received increased worldwide attention since the collapse of Enron and Worldcom. In Malaysia, the Whistleblowing Protection Act (WPA) was introduced in 2010 by the government as one of the internal control mechanisms to mitigate issues of corruption, lack of integrity, malpractices and fraud, among others, in both the public and private sectors. Despite the introduction of this Act, the implementation of whistleblowing practice in the public sector is still at an early stage. This paper reviews the literature on internal audit in the public sector and examines the factors associated with audit effectiveness in mitigating the incidents of fraud. The reviews result in a proposal to suggest that the effectiveness of public sector internal audit is affected by the proficiency of auditors, the independence of internal auditors and the quality of internal audit. This study also proposes that the whistleblowing practice moderates the relationships between the factors and the internal audit effectiveness. This conceptual paper employs the institutional theory and the theory of justice in predicting the expected relationships. This paper contributes to the internal audit field by providing an integrated conceptual framework regarding internal audit effectiveness and the role of whistleblowing practice. The outcome of the proposed research is expected to provide new insights to regulators, policy makers, auditors and the public on the role of whistleblowing in increasing internal audit effectiveness, particularly in the public sector.