Exploring the perceptions of auditor independence in Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of auditors and users of their reports on auditor independence in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach – Auditors and users are requested to stated their confidence in the level of independence in 34 scenarios. Descriptive and χ2 test are the used to analyse the difference of perceptions amongst groups. The paper then conduct an interview with a senior officer of audit regulator body to better understand the findings. Findings – Both groups have less confidence on auditor independence in 30 situations. Results between auditors and users indicate auditors having lower confidence on auditor independence than users in situations related to crossover from audit firm to client, provision of NAS, auditor litigation and indirect financial interest through shareholdings while users have lower confidence on auditor independence involving personal relationship with a political figure and client imposing strict budget on audit fees. Within the auditor group, non-Big 4 auditors expressed more concerned for situations related to family relationship and restriction on audit fees. Originality/value – Research on auditor independence in Indonesia remains scarce despite the country's eagerness to adopt “international” accounting and auditing standards. In addition, the cultural context of Indonesia also helped in explaining our findings.