Users' perspective on the relationship between internal controls and key constructs

<p>This study sought to understand a user's perspective on the level of influence that internal controls had on the levels of trust, employee engagement, employee performance, and organization performance. The relationship between the level of implementation of internal controls with the level of trust that employees have for their employer, employee engagement, employee performance, and organization performance has not been adequately explored. The study was conducted on users who worked in organizations that implemented Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) internal controls, and these organizations strictly maintain all of their information in digital format. About nine hundred users were targeted from COSO implemented small intensive information-technology organizations in southeastern Michigan. The influence that COSO Internal Controls have on the levels of trust, organization performance, employee performance, and employee engagement was explored.</p> <p>The findings revealed that a significant positive relationship existed between the degree of implementation of internal controls and participant-reported organization performance. It was also found that there was a significant positive relationship between the level of implementation of internal controls and the level of trust an employee has for his/her employer. Further, it was found that the level of implementation of internal controls has a significant positive relationship with both employee engagement and employee self-reported performance. This study also determined that there was a significant positive relationship between the level of trust an employee has towards the employer and employee engagement in small businesses. One implication of this study is that private-information technology-intensive organizations should consider implementing a system of internal controls such as the COSO system.</p> <p>It is recommended that future research efforts focus on understanding internal controls interrelated components such as control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring to determine which component has more influence on the level of trust that an employee has regarding his/her employer, employee engagement, employee performance, and organization performance.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

College of Technology

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Mutnuru, Santosh

Contributors dc:contributor

• John Dugger, Ph.D., Chair
• Sean Xiangdong Che, Ph.D.
• Ali Eydgahi, Ph.D.

• Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission
• performance
• employees
• trust
• Science and Technology Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/646

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-2025