Internal Auditors’ Involvement in Enterprise Risk Management (REM)

On the first stages of appearance (fifth decade of 20th century) internal auditors were seen mostly as revisers of accounting and financial information. Step by step internal auditors are focusing on compliance audits, later internal auditors start to evaluate effectiveness of internal control system, assess operating processes and finally, nowadays, the scope of internal audit covers not only compliance audits, evaluating internal controls, fraud investigations, assess of operating processes, but also consultations to the senior management and participation in risk management. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of internal audit in enterprise risk management (ERM) in the companies listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange. The final sample used for this study consists of 43 companies listed in Tehran stock exchange. Also, data were collected using a questionnaire. The study results showed that internal auditors have low involvement in enterprise risk management (ERM) activities, but they are also engage in activities that could compromise their objectivity.