THE IMPACT OF INTERNAL AUDITING ON IMPROVING RISK MANAGEMENT UNDER CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

This study investigates the theoretical and conceptual connections between internal auditing, risk management, and corporate governance with particular regard to strengthening proactive organizational resilience. Based on established frameworks (e.g., COSO, ISO 31000), this study investigates how internal auditing can support governance risk processes to improve strategic oversight and decision-making. The analytical discussion demonstrates theoretically how internal auditing contributes to the improvement of risk management, accompanied by a critical literature review to A) provide evidence and support for the discussion as well as B) challenge the relationship in particular directions. During this process of analysis, the discussion identifies conceptual gaps, providing direction for further empirical research to validate and clarify existing theoretical propositions. In this article we demonstrate the continued importance of situating internal audits in governance structures to allow for more proactive risk identification, informed decision-making, and sustained confidence from stakeholders. The implications for practice and policy highlight the responsibilities of board members, audit committees, and policymakers, to attempt to reinforce audit into risk governance, based on structured frameworks and ongoing assessments for improvement. Finally, the study ends with a reiteration of the argument that internal audits contribute to proactive risk management and ultimately longer-term organizational sustainability if they are integrated into existing governance frameworks.