Identification and Ranking of the Factors Affecting Audit Quality Based on the Views of Independent Auditors and Users of Audit Services

Abstract

Abstract. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of audit quality among different beneficiary groups. It seems that each beneficiary group has a different perception of the factors affecting audit quality depending on the type and amount of its direct involvement in the audit process and the impact it would take from the results. Therefore, to identify the factors affecting audit quality based on the views of independent auditors and users of audit services, a 23-item questionnaire was distributed among a sample of 94 subjects (47 members of the auditors’ representatives and 47 members of the employers’ representatives). The items were classified into the two main dimensions of the auditing firm features and the employer’s characteristics. The results showed both groups consider both major dimensions to influence on audit quality. Then, applying Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, it was attempted to calculate the weights of indices from the perspective of both groups. The results showed each of the two groups of auditors and employers perceive the other group’s features to be more important based on audit quality. The auditors’ group attributed more weight to the employers’ features, while the employers knew audit quality to be more dependent on the auditors’ characteristics rather than on their own.