Bonginkosi G. Mhlongo, Lulu F. Jali
Organisations are facing growth in the digitisation of their processes. This causes rapid growth in the creation of electronic data. These electronic data come from different sectors of business processes such as operational, financial and others. The introduction of industrial age has accelerated the information age. This rapid growth has brought the world to fourth industrial revolution. Internal auditors are expected by their professional body to fulfil the mandate of adding value to organization by reducing risks that threaten the achievement of its goals. This calls for better techniques that are modern. This study adopted two theoretical frameworks which is Fuzzy Set Theory and Grounded Theory. The fuzzy set theory works best when there are no or few researchers in that field of study. Indeed this study has random elements of fuzzy set variables which are vague and imprecise information. Additionally, Grounded Theory was necessary to be used because of the intention to reveal insights. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the successes and unsuccesses in other areas of audit by small and medium sized audit practices. This is necessary because the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) regards data analytics as a critical tool for effective internal audit organisations. The study was conducted using qualitative research approach. Data was collected through Interviews which were conducted to 10 internal auditors. Data was analysed through themes by the use of NVivo. The empirical findings indicated that the transformation of the internal audit activity by the small and medium sized internal audit practices requires much more data analytical development than the technical capabilities in order to be at the most matured state of using data analytics.