Monika Causholli presented her paper titled "Data Analytics Adoption, Social Support, and Internal Auditor Performance" at the NHH Norwegian School of Economics and Temple University. This paper is co-authored with Gatton Ph.D. student, Evisa Bogdani and Romina Rakipi from the University of Pisa.

ABSTRACT: Although data analytics are regarded as indispensable in enhancing auditor performance in the era of rapid technology advancements and big data, the pace of data analytics adoption in internal auditing has been slow. We examine the extent to which social support facilitates internal auditor adoption of data analytics, and whether the use of data analytics is associated with improved internal auditor performance. Using a unique proprietary dataset from a large insurance company in the U.S., we document that peer social support developed through co-participation in company trainings accelerates internal auditor adoption and use of data analytics in internal audit tasks. Further, we find that the extent to which data analytics are used by internal auditors improves auditor performance across different tasks. These findings inform research and practitioners about effective mechanisms that induce auditors’ use of data analytics and shed light on the benefits of data analytics for internal audits.