The effect of gender of internal auditor in state-owned banks on the relationship between moods and whistle-blowing

 Gender can be considered as one of the variables influencing people's judgment and decision making. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the role of gender moderation on the relationship between moods and internal auditors' decisions about internal whistle-blowing.

In the present research, 250 questionnaires were randomly distributed among internal auditors in state-owned banks. 219 questionnaires were used for analysis. The tools used in this study include the moods Questionnaire and the whistle-blowing Questionnaire. Also, the structural equation model and the Standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) have been used to evaluate the relationship between the variables of this study.

results show that both positive and negative aspects of internal auditor’s moods have a significant and positive effect on their judgment and decision making to whistle-blowing. Evidence also shows that the gender of the internal auditor is an important variable in whistle-blowing within the organization and can increase the effectiveness of the relationship between moods and whistle-blowing.

 Thus, based on the findings of this study, policy makers and regulatory bodies of the internal audit profession should provide the necessary mechanisms to support the whistle-blowing and reporting the fraud by internal auditors and pay special attention to the whistle-blowing issue.