The effect of auditor quality to professional skepticsm and its relationship to audit quality

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between auditor quality to professional skepticism and between auditor quality and professional skepticism to audit quality.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis method to test the causal effect of auditor quality to profesional skepticism and audit quality. The respondent in this research is the auditor in the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia in South Sulawesi province using questionnaire. The analysis tool used in this research is partial least square.FindingsThe auditor quality has direct effect on the professional skepticism. Professional skepticism has direct effect on the audit quality. The auditor quality has no direct effect on audit quality, but auditor quality has indirect effect on audit quality with mediation of professional skepticism.Originality/valueThis paper shows a research was conducted about professional skepticism public sector in governmental sector for producing the audit quality, especially in South Sulawesi province in Indonesia. This research retests the research result from Aranya and Amernic (1981); Carcello et al. (1992); Behn et al. (1997); Copley (1998); Brown and Raghunandan (1995); Beasley et al. (2001); Chiu (2003); Suraida (2005); Lewinsohn et al. (1997); Novianti (2008); Varelius (2009). The researcher uses model combination (design) method of sequential explanatory based on evidentiary sequence from Creswell 2009, quantitative research (by instrument using questionnaire).