Benchmarking internal audit disclosure requirements in leading countries: Lessons for the King V report

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Abstract

In South Africa, whilst internal audit functions play a critical role in good corporate governance, the King V report, which sets out South African corporate governance guidelines, does not recommend disclosing internal audit information to external stakeholders (Institute of Directors in South Africa [IoDSA], 2025). Thus, the South African public remains ill-informed about the work and activities of an important corporate governance body, such as the internal audit function. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate whether the corporate governance guidelines of the top-ranked countries recommend internal audit disclosures to external stakeholders and, if so, to further discuss the recommended disclosures. This study consisted of a literature review of studies supporting the need to disclose internal audit information to external stakeholders, and an empirical study comprising a content analysis of the corporate governance guidelines of the top-ranked countries regarding internal audit disclosures. It was found that limited guidelines are informing internal audit disclosures, with recommendations limited to description, structure, role, and principles. The findings of this study can serve as a starting point for regulators, practitioners, and institutions in South Africa to inform reforms that provide clear guidelines for internal audit disclosures to external stakeholders.

Keywords: Internal Audit, Disclosure, Content Analysis, SAHA World Corporate Governance Index, Stakeholder Theory

Authors’ individual contribution: The Author is responsible for all the contributions to the paper according to CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) standards.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: K2, M4

Received: 23.09.2025
Revised: 11.02.2026; 23.02.2026; 24.03.2026
Accepted: 16.04.2026
Published online: 20.04.2026

How to cite this paper: Shiburi, K. S. (2026). Benchmarking internal audit disclosure requirements in leading countries: Lessons for the King V report. Journal of Governance and Regulation, 15(2), 289–299. https://doi.org/10.22495/jgrv15i2art25