Risk based internal audit at Greek listed shipping companies of New York stock exchange

In recent years, significant changes have been made in the internal audit function, based on regulatory stipulations along with the need for improvement of internal audit services. These changes had a significant impact not only on the business itself, but also on the markets and on various stakeholders, and have led to the need to implement a methodology for conducting internal audits based on risk. Our research attempts to record the established status in the Greek shipping companies listed in the New York Stock Exchange NYSE regarding risk based internal audit, based on the perceptions of internal audit professionals. In order to succeed in that, a survey was performed among internal audit employees of various levels at Greek shipping companies listed on the NYSE. The research contains useful conclusions regarding the status of implementation of risk based internal audit methodology. Also, the research focuses on the impact of certain characteristics of internal audit like control activities using multiple regression econometric model based on the regulatory framework for internal audit as provided by the Institute of Internal Auditors. In order to succeed in that, regression analysis was executed based on the results of the aforementioned survey questionnaires. The results revealed significant relationship between risk based internal audit and some the characteristics of internal audit. The conclusion is that risk based internal audit methodology may have viable outcomes to the management of risks within the Greek listed Shipping companies.   Key words: Internal audit, corporate governance, shipping industry, risk based internal audit.