Corporate Governance Mechanism: An Investigation of the Internal Audit Function Quality in Nigerian Listed Firms
Simon Ademola Akinteye, Prof. Dr. Donald Oxford York, Dr. Hassan Qudrat-Ullah

Abstract
Internal Audit Function is a key corporate governance mechanism as an insider activity through which the Board of Director and the Audit Committee get a clearer knowledge of the activities of the management for effective oversight. The Internal Audit Function must possess the ingredients of quality namely, competence, objectivity and reliability, measured by experience, certifications, continued professional development and trainings, internal audit size, extent of the focus of the Internal Audit Function on financial work, and, independence of the Internal Audit Function. All of this affects the quality of financial reporting. This paper examines the quality of Internal Audit Function in the firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange through a qualitative approach. The results show that the Internal Audit Function in Nigerian listed firms possesses the ingredients of quality as documented in the existing literature.

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