AZAN Christian

thesis subject :

The impact of internal auditing on the governance of non-profit organizations: a comparative study of religious associations in France and Togo.

Thesis start date:

Octobre 2025

Name of thesis supervisor(s) :

Pascal BARNETO & Guillaume PLAISANCE

Thesis abstract :

Our research focuses on an area that is still unexplored and poorly documented in terms of literature within NPOs: religious associations. The special status of these associations, which exempts most of them from the obligation to disclose financial information (Law of 1901), unfortunately does not discourage them from financial malpractice or encourage them to maintain transparency. The financial crises and scandals of recent years in France (Thiveaud, 1997) and elsewhere are proof of this state of affairs. The successive scandals have also been the basis for initiatives advocating greater vigilance in the management of organizations through the implementation of governance mechanisms and control systems (Godbout et al., 2022). Not only are NPOs not immune to scandals affecting the organizational world, but they are also often confronted with thorny problems related to their complex nature.
These findings suggest, on the one hand, that traditional governance mechanisms need to be combined with a control system (Davidson et al., 2005) and, on the other hand, that criteria cannot be considered the sole determinants for the creation of an internal audit department. Therefore, in view of the governance issues faced by organizations and the risks associated with multiple forms of malpractice (Ronit & Schneider, 2002), we wonder whether it would not be beneficial for NPOs to move towards an integrated vision of internal audit practice. This possibility prompts us to question the underlying reasons for the lack of interest in internal auditing in NPOs (Buabeng, 2020) in general and in religious associations in particular.
Our question is thus framed as follows: when assessing the real impact that NPOs can have on their environment, in this case stakeholders (Plaisance, 2021), how can we highlight the importance of internal auditing in the success of these entities’ objectives and mission, and encourage adherence to its practice ?