Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the cybersecurity assurance approaches to determine the key issues and weaknesses within the internal audit and risk management perspective. Organizations increasingly rely on digital data to drive their growth and they are interconnected in a complex web to a multitude of stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, cybersecurity is defined, and cybersecurity assurance model is explained based on the relevant literature. In addition, the role of internal auditing is introduced within this new business landscape. Finally, recommendations are made to provide best practices for stakeholders. Findings: There are four major cyber-focused standards and frameworks in the current literature, namely, Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology, International Organization for Standardization, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and National Institute of Standards and Technology. In addition, there are many mechanisms in existence and operation currently which support cybersecurity assurance to prevent major threats. These include risk assessment, risk treatment, risk management, security assurance and auditing. Research limitations/implications: Cyber risk is not something that can be avoided; instead, it must be managed. Hence, it is very important to maintain formal documentation on related cyber controls. Internal audit should be an integral part of cybersecurity assurance process, as internal audit have a unique position to look across organizations. The contribution of internal audit also provides comfort to the Board and Audit Committee. Practical implications: A model is introduced how the internal audit and information security functions could work together to support organizations accomplish a cost-effective level of information security. The key issues and approaches are explained for how to become a trusted cybersecurity advisor and a sample cybersecurity awareness program checklist is provided at Appendix 1. Social implications: Considering cybersecurity threats grow with speed, complexity, and impact, organizations are no longer satisfied with an answer to a question like “are we secure?” instead, they need the answer for such a question like “how to give a reasonable assurance that our business will be secure enough?”. In that respect, the role of internal audit is discussed based on the relevant literature and the current condition of the business environment. Originality/value: A model is introduced how the internal audit and information security functions could work together to support organizations accomplish a cost-effective level of information security. The key issues and approaches are explained for how to become a trusted cybersecurity advisor and a sample cybersecurity awareness program checklist is provided at Appendix 1.

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the impact of government effectiveness on trade and financial openness in 35 selected countries around the globe. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research approach was applied in the study using the generalized quantile panel regression approach to analyze the impact of identified variables in these selected countries. Panel quantile models with high estimation performance are preferred in the presence of excessive deviations and in cases where the normal distribution is invalid. Findings/results: The empirical findings indicate that selected countries with above-average governmental effectiveness, that is, with a well-established state bureaucracy and a historically strong state tradition, will further increase their activities toward international integration through financial and trade openness. Practical implications: This study aims to provide valuable information that governments and regulatory authorities can benefit from in their decision-making processes. Originality/value: In this study, it is preferred to use the trade openness of countries as the share of exports in total world exports and financial openness as the ratio of capital flows to world flows. In this way, these variables will provide new information to analyze the influence of government effectiveness. Implementing the generalized quantile panel regression technique can also be expressed as an innovation in this field of literature.

Smart cities are interconnected in a complex web of interdependent systems that are critical for functioning of smart services for better living. However, cybersecurity risks in smart cities are a growing concern for smart city councils and governments globally. As more city services are being brought online and connected with other services, the cybersecurity threat surface is also increasing. We experience a surge in exploitation of security vulnerabilities in smart service operations in cities on a global scale. Incidents of cyberattacks bringing down critical smart services like smart grids and other digital infrastructure are now occurring frequently. These cyberattacks are anticipated to increase further on a larger scale if smart city councils do not take a proactive approach toward cybersecurity risk management and assurance. Managing the cyber risks of smart cities is an understudied area of information systems and cybersecurity research domains that is necessary for the development of cyber-resilient societies. This paper attempts to address this gap. It is based on the premise that cybersecurity risks in smart cities cannot be avoided; instead, they must be proactively identified, assessed, and managed. This paper provides an overview of interdependent systems in smart cities, cybersecurity risks in the context of interdependent systems, and impact of recent cyberattacks on public services in cities across the globe. The significance of risk management and assurance in smart cities is introduced in this paper to address the cybersecurity risks arising from system of systems. Cybersecurity risk management utilizing NIST’s Risk Management Framework has been recommended in this paper for smart city councils through a step-wise approach, highlighting the necessary actions for effective operational cybersecurity risk assurance.

Hem kamu hem de özel sektörde iç denetim mesleği, stratejik hedeflere ulaşmak için iş süreçlerini iyileştirmeye yönelik temel bir gereklilik haline gelmiştir. Bunun ana nedeni, iç denetimin katma değerli, riske dayalı yaklaşımı ve stratejik hedeflere ulaşmada güvenilir danışman olmasıyla önemli bir role sahip olmasıdır. Türkiye’de kamu sektöründe iç denetim, kamu idarelerinin öncelikleri ve performans göstergelerine uygun olarak kamu kaynaklarının ekonomik, verimli ve etkin kullanımını sağlamak amacıyla 2003 yılında 5018 sayılı Kamu Mali Yönetimi ve Kontrol Kanunu ile yürürlüğe giren nispeten yeni bir uygulamadır. Kısa bir geçiş döneminden sonra kamu idareleri, İç Denetim Koordinasyon Kurulu’nun tam desteğiyle iç denetim fonksiyonlarını bu kadar kısa bir sürede IIA standartlarına göre kurmaya başlamıştır. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, Türkiye'deki kamu sektörü iç denetiminin mevcut durumunu analiz etmek ve en iyi uygulamalara örnek vermektir. Bu kapsamda, TC Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı iç denetim fonksiyonu seçilmiştir. Bunun nedeni, Bakanlık iç denetim ekibinin, denetim planlarını, saha çalışmalarını ve raporlarını dijital olarak yürütmek için kurum içinde geliştirilen sürekli bir denetim yazılımı kullanmasıdır. İlk olarak, sürekli denetim ve veri analitiğinin önemi ilgili literatüre göre açıklanmaktadır. İkinci olarak, Türk kamu sektöründe iç denetim hakkında kısa bir arka plan bilgisi verilmekte ve Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı iç denetim fonksiyonu kısaca tanıtılmaktadır. Üçüncüsü, Bakanlığın sürekli denetim vakasının verileri, metodolojisi ve ampirik sonuçları sunulmaktadır. Sonuç olarak, literatüre katkıda bulunmak için ampirik bulgulara dayalı politika önerileri yapılmıştır.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of blockchain especially on accounting and finance functions, the strategic role of CFOs, and to the restructuring process of accounting and finance functions in the future. In this respect, a business model is recommended that finance, accounting, and audit professionals can benefit from. It is aimed to contribute to the literature by providing blockchain adaptation and implementation strategy via providing information about accounting, finance, and auditing algorithm samples for revolutionizing these functions. To the best of our knowledge, this will be a pioneering work that makes a survey by examining blockchain algorithm samples in the field of accounting, auditing, and finance by using Bibliometric Network Analysis. In this analysis, six major clusters are estimated for defining the impacts of blockchain in the literature based on “Co-citation” aspects for the period 2005–2021 considering the SSCI indexed articles. In addition, the ranking of the top three contributing countries is found to be China, USA, and the UK respectively. This indicates the power of these countries to shape the future of accounting, finance, and auditing standards by means of producing blockchain algorithms and determining innovation policies of these professions in the future.