Auditors: the battlefield vultures or under-rated stretcher bearers

Last month, I began a discussion about the evolving role of audit and how significant changes, such as the implementation of the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act, have affected the internal audit profession. I also raised a number of questions about audit roles and responsibilities, such as who should be monitoring internal controls? And if management is responsible for maintaining effective control systems, should they be monitoring these systems or does that task fall to audit?