Professional Skills of Internal Auditors and their Impact on the Implementation of Corporate Governance Principles

This study aimed at identifying the professional skills of the internal auditors and the impact of these skills on the implementation of corporate governance principles in the Yemeni Islamic banks.  The analytical descriptive method was adopted. To collect the required data, the census survey was used and 70 questionnaires were distributed to all the internal auditors in the Islamic banks and the inspectors of the Central Bank of Yemen in Sana'a. Sixty-three questionnaires were collected and all were valid for analysis. The results of the study revealed that the professional skills had a significant impact on the implementation of corporate governance principles in the Yemeni Islamic banks. The results also showed that the Islamic banks apply to some extent the governance principles as well as the professional skills in the Islamic banks. The study recommended that it is important for the Islamic banks to implement the corporate governance principles and the internal audit function should be supervised directly by the boards of directors. The study also recommended that the internal audit staff should be involved in training courses, conferences, seminars related to internal auditing and corporate governance as well as the international standards of internal audit and corporate governance principles. Additionally, copies of the international internal audit standards and local and international banking legislations should be provided.