The Integrative Role of the Audit Committee in Coordinating Internal Audit and External Audit

This study examines the integrative role of the audit committee in coordinating internal audit and external audit functions within corporate governance systems. Although the academic literature has extensively analysed these assurance mechanisms, they are typically studied separately, and the conceptualisation of the audit committee as a coordination interface between them remains underdeveloped. The research employs the Structured Literature Review (SLR) methodology, following the framework proposed by Massaro et al. (2016), to ensure transparency and rigour in the selection and synthesis of existing studies. Starting from an initial set of 310 articles indexed in the Web of Science database, a multi-stage filtering process led to a final sample of 25 relevant studies, of which 17 directly analyse the interaction among internal audit, external audit, and the audit committee. The results reveal the predominance of a structural monitoring perspective, with most studies analysing bilateral relationships between the audit committee and one of the two audit functions. Trilateral approaches that simultaneously integrate all three governance mechanisms remain limited. Based on the synthesis conducted, the study proposes a conceptual framework structured around three levels — structural inputs, integration mechanisms, and governance outcomes — which positions the audit committee as an active interface facilitating coordination between internal audit and external audit. The main contribution of the research lies in integrating fragmented streams of the specialised literature and in developing a conceptual model that highlights the potential integrative role of the audit committee in the assurance architecture, while also providing a basis for future empirical testing.