Mehdi GHARRAFI

The aim of this study was to examine the factors influencing (determining) the effectiveness of the internal audit function in Moroccan public companies. The research sample consisted of 137 respondents. The results of statistical tests showed that management independence, competence and support could increase the effectiveness of the internal audit function. However, this cooperative relationship did not moderate the impact of management competence and support on internal audit effectiveness. The practical implication of this study is that, in order to increase internal audit effectiveness, internal auditors must adopt an attitude of independence, objectivity and freedom from conflicts of interest in the exercise of their professional responsibilities. The practical value of this study also shows that to increase the effectiveness of internal auditing in the public sector, internal and external auditors need to strengthen their cooperation, particularly with regard to activities requiring collaboration between internal and external auditors, communication between internal and external auditors, and the sharing of working tools and documents between internal and external auditors.

The context of this research is that there are still many cases of fraud that occur in companies, central government, local authorities or public institutions. The purpose of this study is to determine whether and to what extent internal audit and good governance play a role in preventing fraud in Moroccan public enterprise. The independent variable is "internal audit" and "good governance," while the dependent variable is "fraud prevention." We adopted a post-positivist posture, a hypothetico-deductive logic and a quantitative approach. The research population is made up of internal auditors, a total of 35 people in Moroccan public enterprise. We used a non-probability sampling technique, more precisely, the saturated sample technique, and then multiple regression to model fraud prevention and its determinants. The results of the study show that internal audit and good governance have a positive and significant role in fraud prevention. In addition, internal audit and good governance contribute 49.2% in the prevention of fraud.