Information Systems Audit and Information Systems Governance: Examining the Moderating Role of Digital Human Capital

Abstract

This research examines the relationship between information systems auditing (ISA) and information systems governance (ISG), focusing particularly on the moderating role of digital human capital (DHC). Although the literature acknowledges the contribution of IS auditing to governance effectiveness, few studies have analyzed how the digital skills of organizational actors influence this relationship. Drawing on IS governance theory, the Resource-Based View (RBV), and agency theory, this study proposes and tests a moderation model aimed at better understanding the mechanisms underlying IS governance performance. The study is set in the Moroccan context and relies on survey data collected from 25 experienced professionals, internal and external auditors, information systems managers, and internal controllers, working in public- and private-sector organizations. The data were analysed using hierarchical linear regression, after verifying the reliability and validity of the measurement scales. The findings show that IS auditing is a positive and statistically significant determinant of IS governance. By contrast, digital human capital exerts neither a significant direct effect on governance nor a significant moderating effect on the relationship between IS auditing and governance. These results suggest that the effectiveness of IS auditing rests more on normative, organizational, and procedural arrangements than on the level of digital competencies held by teams. Although the limited sample size calls for an exploratory interpretation of these results and warrants broader replication, this research offers original insight in the Moroccan context. Its main contribution lies in repositioning digital human capital as a complementary explanatory factor, and not as a reinforcing condition, of IS auditing effectiveness.