Abstract
Owing to transactional evolution among business entities, mostly related to globalization, the internal audit function (IAF) has assumed a relevant role in the organisational context as it advises and supports management. In this scenario there is an inquiry into the activities of internal auditing related not only to the technical perspective but also to its contribution to the managerial duties. Thus, the current study aims to provide answers to the questions concerning: what is the perception of the management about the role of Internal Audit Function (IAF) in the managerial practice and decision making process in business entities and organisations at large? The study was restricted to non-financial institutions of the State of São Paulo with shares traded at Bovespa Stock Market. As primary data have been gathered through structured questionnaire, we adopted the descriptive approach for the treatment of the data. Based on our analysis, taking the perception of the management, IAF is a managerial enhancing tool, supporting the organisations to meet up with objectives, thus implying a contributively source of information derived from continuous assessment of strategic risks to strengthen the internal control systems for decision making.
Key words: Internal audit function, organisations, management enhancement tool, decision-making.
