Factor Structure of the Competency Framework for Internal Auditing (CFIA) Skills for Entering Level Internal Auditors

Recently, the Institute of Internal Auditors published a framework that summarized a listing of competency standards, the Competency Framework for Internal Auditing (CFIA), outlining the attributes required by all internal auditors to achieve a high level of professional competence. One of the biggest concerns in the application of this framework is the onerous number of potential factors to be considered. In this paper, using factor analysis, we attempted to reduce the number of skills while maintaining the overall significance of the original framework. The study also sought to obtain the opinions of peer internal auditors on the perceived importance of these various skills. Our findings are important to researchers who can revisit the current internal auditor selection models and reformulate, if necessary, and apply those models to more empirical research using the reduced number of factors introduced in this paper. For organizations and practitioners, these results aid in streamlining their internal auditor selection processes by utilizing a more focused set of factors.