4.11    3.31    2.38

Table 2    Relevance of possible improvements as perceived by Internal Auditors (IA), Statutory Auditors (SA) and External Auditors (EA)

Actions    Mean
    IA    SA    EA

11. Protection of the independence versus the audited functions (definition of clear forms of incompatibility with other roles or tasks)    4.0    3.90    *
12. More severe penalties for incorrect behaviour of process owners, managers andother auditors    4.03    2.77    4.33
13. Improvement in responsibility, through appreciating professional autonomy andcritical judgement capability    4.32    3.81    *
14. Educational skills reinforcement through specialised training courses that are    practice oriented    3.91    3.22    2.57
15. Widening horizons of education paths with greater attention to professional ethics    3.15    3.34    2.24
16. Increase in the number of more detailed rules, standards and manuals with reference to different sector specificity    3.24    3.37    2.48
17. Streamlining duties focusing on the most important aspects of controls    4.09    4.08    3.24
18. Introduction of transparency measures and thorough communication of audit results    3.97    3.61    2.52
19. Double checking the results of the control systems through sample inspections of     their effectiveness entrusted to independent bodies     3.47    2.97    2.43
20. Increasing the powers and resources of public supervision authorities    3.26    2.59    2.76
Question not applicable to the considered role
The areas considered more relevant and hence candidates for main improvement actions are: protection of Internal Auditors independence (11), appreciating and making them more for their role (13), streamlining auditors’duties (17) and strengthening penalties for incorrect behaviour of process owners (12).
5.2  Statutory Auditors
Only four out of the ten questions asked of the respondents (3, 6, 7, 10)  are considered “relevant enough”, based on the meaning assigned to the results, by the Chairmen of the Boards of Statutory Auitors.
The control of the Board of Statutory Auditors concerns the processes of decision-making and choice-making by managers and people delegated by them, the information and the components considered, the reasons that generated them, their conformity to provisions of the law and the statute. Namely, such a body must verify that the choices suggested are reasonable, appropriate and compatible with the company’s resources and assets, therefore creating control that has been defined by many sources as “substantial legitimacy” control (Gallucci 2006).
The “improvement”actions considered to be more relevant are: streamlining of auditors’duties (17), protection of the independence of SA with reference to controlled functions (11), making statutory auditors more responsible and appre-ciating their role (13) and introduction of transparency measures and full communication of audit results (18).
It is interesting to note that according to the Statutory Auditors, the three top improvement proposals are the same as those identified by Internal Auditors, even though inversely classified in terms of relevance.
This point, together with the regulation factor, could be interpreted as a sign from the SA of the need to focus their control activities on the‘most critical’aspects, while today they are quite‘broad-based’on the current regulations. 企业内部控制制度英文文献和翻译(10):http://www.751com.cn/fanyi/lunwen_239.html