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TÉKHNE - Review of Applied Management Studies (2017) xxx, xxx---xxx

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ARTICLE

The effect of auditor features on audit quality

S. Zahmatkesh a,∗ , J. Rezazadeh b

a
Department of Accounting, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran
b
Imam khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

Received 28 May 2017; accepted 26 September 2017

JEL Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of work experience, professional
CLASSIFICATION competence, motivation, accountability and objectivity of the auditor on audit quality from
M42 the viewpoint of auditors employed in firms. The present study leads to the identification of
factors affecting audit quality, which have not been studied sufficiently in Iran. According to
KEYWORDS the results of this study, professional competence, accountability and objectivity of the auditor
Audit quality; show significant effect on the quality of the audit. Employing people with high experience
Work experience; increases audit quality by enhancing the professional competence of the auditor; auditors gain
Professional a deeper knowledge and better judgement to achieve audit quality. Accountability improves
competence; auditor’s performance and objectivity of auditors enables them to operate without the influence
Motivation; of another individual.
Accountability; © 2017 Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave (IPCA). Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All
Objectivity rights reserved.

1. Introduction auditor professional competence and expertise, and give

higher audit quality.
Work experience will improve auditor’s ability to do the Auditors need motivation to perform their duties prop-
audit. Auditor’s work experience influences the length of erly. Motivation is encouragement that belongs to auditors
time and number of tasks that have been performed by the that support performance in effort to reach goals. Auditors
auditor. Both of these increase auditor expertise in doing the can obtain encouragement from themselves, co-workers,
audit. Professional competence consists of personal quality, work place or employer. Ramadhanis (2012) considers
general knowledge and special skill. Increase in personal that with motivation someone will have high morale to
quality, general knowledge and special skill will increase achieve the goals and meet the existing standards. Morale
makes auditors complete their job with great toughness,
introspection and consistency (not influenced by mood in
∗
examinations) and to maintain the results of the audit, so
Corresponding author. auditor’s work will comply with the standards that have been
E-mail address: sanaz [email protected] (S. Zahmatkesh).
established, which indicates the high quality of audit. The

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2 S. Zahmatkesh, J. Rezazadeh

auditor’s motivation is divided into four parts, including: (1) Auditor’s professional competence is the ability of an
character type: the kind of personality characterized, (2) auditor to apply the knowledge and experience that have
internal and external control: behaviour is shown in the com- been possessed in auditing so that the auditor can perform
pany’s auditors, (3) audit norms: the implementation of the the audit carefully, accurately and objectively (Carolita &
rules on company and (4) ethical culture in firm: ethics in Rahardjo, 2012). The higher competency level, the more
the organization is in compliance. audit quality (Sukriah et al., 2009). Variables of experi-
In performing their duties, auditors will certainly attempt ence and skills, which have been chosen to represent the
to meet the standards, which then raise accountability. competence variable, have a negative relationship with the
Singgih and Bawono (2010) define accountability as a form duration of the execution and completion of auditing opera-
of psychological encouragement that marks someone trying tions (Rafiee, Karimian, Mahmoudi, & Haghighi, 2013). Thus
to account for all actions and decisions taken by the envi- we can formulate the following hypotheses:
ronment. If the auditor has accountability, then work will
be done with the entire efforts and thinking, so that the H2 . The auditor’s professional competency has a signifi-
auditor conducts an audit completed on time in accordance cantly positive effect on audit quality.
with the auditing standards. Thus, the auditor work will be
better and audit quality will increase. This is in line with According to Robbins and Judge (2009), motivation is a
research of Ardini (2010), Ilamiyati and Suhardjo (2012) and process of producing individual intensity, objectives and per-
Saripudin, Herawaty, and Rahayu (2012). severance in an effort to achieve goals. Ardini (2010) divides
Auditors should maintain objectivity and should be free the motivations into two parts: positive and negative moti-
from conflicts of interest in fulfilling professional obliga- vations. Positive motivation is a process of trying to influence
tions. Auditors who are free from conflicts of interest will others to do something that we want by giving the possibil-
be able to act fairly without being influenced by pressure or ity to get a prize. The negative motivation is the process of
demand from certain parties. This suitability indicates that trying to influence others to do something that we want but
audit quality is higher. This study was conducted to analyze the basic technique used is by power. There is a positive cor-
whether auditor’s work experience, competency, motiva- relation between personality types of the auditors, internal
tion, accountability and objectivity have significant effect and external control centre, ethical culture in the audit firm
on audit quality. and audit team’s norms and audit quality (Aghaei & Ahmadi,
2015). Although many of the issues related to the quality
of international standards containing explicit and clear con-
2. Literature review and hypothesis ditions (thus allowing easy assessment of whether or not
development everyone is compatible with what is presumed) are cov-
ered, such a statement cannot be extrapolated in the field
Audit quality is the auditor’s work result shown with of ethics of audit quality. One of the main reasons lies in the
a reliable audit report based on the determined stan- fact that the business environment is very dynamic and busi-
dards (Sukriah, Akram, & Inapty, 2009). Audit qualities are ness practices and traditions are different from one country
positively influenced by work experience, professional com- to another. On the one hand, the emergence of ethics is
petence, motivation, accountability and objectivity. The different across countries; on the other hand, the threats
research conducted by Saripudin et al. (2012) indicates of impartiality are very specific and sometimes unexpected.
that there is a simultaneous positive effect of indepen- Since the standard process needs the stabilized repetition of
dence, experience, due professional care and accountability a standard target for a particular time period, the effective
on audit quality. Ramadhanis (2012) finds that professional response of the standard to the changing pressures that is
competence, independence and motivation simultaneously applied to the quality of auditors is not possible. A positive
give positive effects on the audit quality. Research by and significant impact of time budget pressure on the report
Sukriah et al. (2009) also finds that work experience, is less than the real time. In addition, the results show a sig-
independence, objectivity, integrity and professional com- nificant adverse impact of ethics on time budget pressure
petence of auditors simultaneously have effect on audit (Malekian & Tavakolnia, 2014). Thus we can formulate the
quality. following hypotheses:
Singgih and Bawono (2010) define work experience as
a learning process and increase of potential development H3 . Auditor’s motivation has a significantly positive effect
of good behaviour from formal and non-formal education; on audit quality.
they consider it a process of bringing a person to a higher
behaviour pattern. Purnamasari (as cited in Samsi, Riduwan, The third hypothesis (H3 ) contains four parts:
& Suryono, 2013) states that an employee having high work
experience will have advantages to detect, understand and H3.1 . Character type has a significantly positive effect on
look for the error causes. Length of work as an auditor auditor motivation.
and experience will increase the audit quality (Carolita
& Rahardjo, 2012). Thus we can formulate the following
H3.2 . Internal and external control has a significantly posi-
hypotheses:
tive effect on auditor motivation.

H1 . The auditor’s work experience has a significantly posi- H3.3 . The audit norms have a significantly positive effect
tive effect on audit quality. on auditor motivation.

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The effect of auditor features on audit quality 3

∑
Audit work auditor objectivity
experience has has significantly
significantly H1 H5
positive effect
positive effect

Audit quality
H2 H4
professional accountability
competence auditor auditor has
has significantly H3 significantly
positive effect positive effect

auditor motivation
has significantly
positive effect
H3,1 H3,4
H3,2 H3,3

Character type Internal and The audit norms Ethical culture in

has significantly external control has significantly firm has
positive effect has significantly positive effect significantly
positive effect positive effect

Figure 1 Conceptual framework here.

H3.4 . Ethical culture in firm has an effect on auditor moti- 3. Research method
vation.
This is a practical research. It is developed based on stud-
ies on audit quality and relevant research results. In terms
According to Tetclock (as cited in Ilamiyati & Suhardjo,
of type of data collection, it is a descriptive-correlational
2012), accountability is a form of psychological impulse that
research. Methods of data collection are applied using
makes someone try to account for all actions and decisions
survey questionnaires of independent variables of work
taken by the environment. In case of facing evidence in
experience, professional competence, motivation, account-
conflict with the initial findings in the audit process, respon-
ability and impartiality of auditors and audit quality
sibility and accountability for audit work performed and the
variables. After data collection, the findings are tested with
pressure of time leads to raised concern over the loss of
the help of statistical software SPSS and EViews. In this
reputation and the possibility of concealment of audit evi-
study, in order to test the relationship between variables
dence is increased (Barzideh & Kheirollahi, 2012). Thus we
and the significance of the proposed model for explaining
can formulate the following hypotheses:
the dependent variable, the regression analysis was used.
Data were collected by a questionnaire. Statistical popu-
H4 . Auditor’s accountability has a significantly positive lation included all the listed companies in the year 2016 in
effect on audit quality. Iran. The study took place in the offices of auditors employed
in public accounting companies.
In this study, 200 questionnaires were distributed to pub-
Sukriah et al. (2009) indicates that a person is said to lic accounting firms of auditors. A total of 80 questionnaires
be objective when in the audit process, the auditor can (40%) have the wrong frequency questionnaire and 18 (9%)
free from any conflicts of interest and be able to express incomplete questionnaires are not eligible for the study. So
the statement according to the facts. Objectivity and delay questionnaires that can be used in the study are 102 ques-
in independent audit are inversely related but the internal tionnaires (51%).
audit size variable has no significant relationship with this The regression used to test the hypothesis is as follows:
variable (Hajiha & Rafiee, 2014). Thus we can formulate the
following hypotheses:
AQ = ˛0 + ˇ1 WE + ˇ2 PC + ˇ3 CT + ˇ4 IEC + ˇ5 AN
+ ˇ6 EC + ˇ7 AC + ˇ8 OB + ε0
H5 . Auditor’s objectivity has a significantly positive effect
on audit quality.
where AQ, audit quality; WE, audit work experience; PC,
professional competence auditor; MO, auditor motivation,
Based on the above hypothesis formulation, the frame- which includes three parts: CT, character type; IEC, internal
work of this study is as follows (Fig. 1): and external control; AN, audit norms; EC, ethical culture

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4 S. Zahmatkesh, J. Rezazadeh

in firm; AC, auditor accountability; OB, auditor objectivity; motivated to conduct behaviour, the behaviour is more likely
ε0 , residual. to occur. There are two general categories of motivation for
conducting behaviour: individual factors and environmental
factors. Individual factors include internal and external
3.1. Variables definition control and personality type. Environmental factors include
ethical culture in firm, and the audit team norms.
Audit quality: One of the most common definitions of audit Character type: Psychology researchers have found that
quality is the definition that de Angelo (1981) has provided. people with different personality types deal with ethical
This author has defined audit quality as ‘‘evaluation (infer- issues in different manners (Fisher, 2001). In fact, most peo-
ence) of market’’ of the possibility that the auditor (1) ple with type A personality are more committed to their
discovers cases of material misstatement of the financial work and put more effort into achieving organizational goals
and accounting system of an employer, and (2) to report without being involved in unethical behaviour than type B
the discovery of material misstatement. Whether the audi- people (Mohd Nor, 2011).
tor discovers significant cases of material misstatement Internal and external control: According to the theory of
depends on the auditor’s competence and whether the audi- planned behaviour, the more people have control over their
tor reports these cases of discovered material misstatement behaviour, it is more likely to be performed. The level of
depends on auditor independence. de Angelo’s (1981) def- control that individuals have on the conduct and results of
inition of real audit quality is based on the perception of their behaviour is determined through internal and external
consumers or the understanding of the market of audit qual- control agent.
ity. Using this definition in determining real audit quality is Audit norms: According to the theory of planned
based on the fundamental assumption that the interpreta- behaviour, audit norms are another factor in the environ-
tion of audit quality reflects real audit quality. Krishnan and ment of the audit firm that affects the behaviour of the
Schauer (2000) have accepted de Angelo’s (1981) definition auditor. Norms of the audit team is the group’s beliefs in
without separating it into real audit and interpretation of ethical behaviour which members are expected to follow.
audit quality. Ethical culture in firm: According to the theory of planned
Audit work experience: Auditor’s experience results in behaviour, when people are under pressure from the envi-
increased independence and, in turn, quality, and as the ronment into adhering to moral behaviour, moral behaviour
auditor gains better command over the employer’s system, is more likely to be observed. This pressure is applied by
auditing experience increases as well. On the other hand, ethical culture in audit firms. Sweeney and Roberts (1997)
knowledge and expertise on the client’s industry comprises found that ethical culture in the environment has an impor-
an important part of experience that improves audit qual- tant role in providing incentives for auditors to encourage
ity. As auditor knowledge and experience increases, it will moral behaviour.
enable him to explore more potential deviations and errors Accountability auditor: Accountability for the audit work
in the audit process. performed and time pressures increase concerns over loss
Professional competence auditor: The auditor’s pro- of reputation and lead to concealing evidence which is in
fessional competence is determined based on observable conflict with decisions that were based on earlier findings.
behaviours of the person. In addition, overseeing supe- By conducting an experimental project, auditors investi-
rior performance and required competencies for normal gate concerns over loss of reputation due to finding further
operation are not included. The greater the professional conflicting evidence and the possibility of concealing such
competence, the better audit quality. Professional auditors evidence.
must provide professional services with care, competence Auditor objectivity: An independent auditor should be
and diligence. They must always keep their level of knowl- clear, honest and sincere in their professional work. The
edge and skills high enough to ensure that their services are independent auditor must be impartial and not allow prej-
acceptable based on the latest standards and regulations. udice or bias shift his objectivity. An independent auditor
Auditor motivation: According to the theory of planned must maintain his objectivity and avoid cases that, regard-
behaviour, auditor’s motivation to report errors and fraud is less of its actual effects, may be in conflict with his honesty
categorized into two groups of individual and organizational and objectivity. Avoiding contradictions that may appear in
factors. Auditor’s behaviour reflects their personality traits action and objectivity of auditors in carrying out audit is
(Paino, Ismail, & Smith, 2010). In addition to personality essential in order to maintain credibility. Maintaining objec-
traits, according to the theory of planned behaviour, other tivity includes on going assessment of relations with the unit
environmental factors, including organizational and team under audit and other interested parties; it is a responsibility
factors can also affect motivation. Most studies have focused of the auditor to the community.
on the relationship between individual characteristics and
the impact of other factors such as company agents and
teams have not been evaluated. In this study, the impact of 4. Results
three groups of individual, organizational and team factors
such as auditor’s character traits, ethical culture in the 4.1. Descriptive statistics
firm and audit team norms on the motivation of auditors to
report deviations and errors as audit quality will be investi- When a mass of quantitative data is collected for research, it
gated. Theory of planned behaviour is an important theory is essential to organize and summarize it first, in a way that
in psychology that explains the basic mechanism for accept- is significantly understandable. Thus, descriptive statistical
ing behaviour. According to this theory, when a person is methods are recommended. Often the most useful and also

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The effect of auditor features on audit quality 5

Table 1 Descriptive statistics.

Variable Mean Median Std. deviation Skewness Kurtosis Minimum Maximum Sum
AQ 3.98 4 0.933 −0.632 −0.102 1 5 406
WE 2.686 2 1.6708 0.356 −1.577 1 5 274
PC 3.8393 3.89 0.47323 −0.412 0.787 2.22 4.89 391.61
CT 0.627 1 0.4859 −0.535 −1.748 0.00 1 64
IEC 0.431 0.00 0.4977 0.281 −1.96 0.00 1 44
AN 3.5221 3.6 0.46355 −0.162 0.022 2.33 4.6 359.25
EC 3.1889 3.2 0.38281 0.78 3.335 2.25 4.93 325.27
AC 0.9098 1 0.12767 −1.787 3.376 0.43 1 92.8
OB 0.814 1 0.3913 −1.636 0.689 0.00 1 83

of sig; the hypothesis of normal distribution of the audi-

Table 2 Tests of normality.
tor accountability variable is rejected. In other words, as
Variable Kolmogorov---Smirnovb Shapiro---Wilk was predicted in the descriptive analysis, we cannot say
the variable data distribution is normal. But the indepen-
Statistic Sig. Statistic Sig. dent variable of ethics in firm has sig above 0.05 in the
a Kolmogorov---Smirnov test and it can be said it has normal
EC 0.063 0.200 0.955 0.002
AC 0.27 0.000 0.737 0.000 distribution (Table 3).
a This is a lower bound of the true significance.
The independent variable of auditor accountability is nor-
b Lilliefors Significance Correction. malized through the logarithmic method.

the first step in organizing data is sorting data based on a 4.2. Correlations
logical criteria and then extracting central and dispersion
parameters and, if necessary, calculating the correlation If the variables are not independent from each other, they
between the two sets of data and the use of more advanced are certainly not correlated. The correlation coefficient is a
analysis such as regression and prediction (Table 1). statistics tool used to measure the strength or degree of a
In general, if skewness and kurtosis are in range (2,2), the linear relationship between two variables. The most famous
data is normally distributed. Statistical information shows of the correlation coefficient is Pearson correlation. This
descriptive variables, it can be concluded that there is mod- index is defined in a way that it takes values between −1 to
erate dispersion in all the variables and it can be inferred +1 (Table 4).
from the standard deviation. Elongation of independent According to the table, the higher correlation coefficient
variables of ethics in firm and accountability of auditors are of the variable means a stronger correlation.
not normal. The rest of the variables have normal kurtosis According to Fig. 2, the correlation is reverse and com-
and skewness. plete. More efficiency is between −1 and +1.
After reviewing routine or normality of elongation or
skewness of data distribution, the Shapiro---Wilk test or
Kolmogorov---Smirnov test is used to ensure normality of the 4.3. Coefficient of determination test
data. When analysing normality of data, we assume that the
data is normally distributed by error rate of 0.05 in our tests. The R-value indicates that there is correlation between the
Therefore if the test statistic is greater than or equal to 0.05, dependent and independent variables. An adjusted R-square
then there will be no reason to reject the null hypothesis value shows that several percent of audit quality variable is
that the data is normal. In other words, the data is normally explained by five independent variables (Table 5).
distributed (Table 2). The R-value is 0.612, indicating that there is a strong cor-
Usually, if the level of significance of these tests that relation between the dependent variable (audit quality) and
are shown in the table with sig is greater than 0.05, it independent variables (work experience, professional com-
can be assumed, with high reliability, that data is normal. petence, motivation, accountability and objectivity). The
Otherwise, it cannot be said data distribution is normal. adjusted R-square value 0.321 shows that 32.1% of the audit
According to the table above, the independent variable of quality variable is explained by five independent variables,
auditor accountability in the Kolmogorov---Smirnov and the while the remaining 67.9% is explained by other variables
Shapiro---Wilk tests has a less than 0.05 significance level outside the model.

Table 3 Descriptive statistics.

Variable Mean Median Std. deviation Skewness Kurtosis Minimum Maximum Sum
AC .0103 .8700 1.07038 −.978 −.256 −2.53 .87 1.05

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Table 4 Correlation.
Variable AQ WE PC CT IEC AN EC AC OB
AQ 1
WE 0.396054 1
PC 0.335588 0.24691 1
CT −0.05994 0.049741 −0.15744 1
IEC 0.039707 0.140537 0.030275 −0.10677 1
AN 0.197614 −0.00338 0.27017 0.036849 −0.1734 1
EC 0.209465 0.097607 0.272438 0.061165 −0.32648 0.380244 1
AC 0.271888 −0.05891 0.188419 −0.09003 −0.18925 0.152394 0.128134 1
OB 0.261066 −0.05999 −0.15738 −0.10825 0.00997 0.001044 0.027071 0.153332 1

Table 5 Model summary.b

Model R R-square Adjusted R-square Std. error of the estimate
1 0.612a 0.375 0.321 0.769
a Predictors: (Constant), OB, AN, WE, CT, AC, IEC, PC, EC.
b Dependent variable: AQ.

Scatterplot (2012), Saripudin et al. (2012), Singgih and Bawono (2010),

Dependent variable:AQ Sukriah et al. (2009), and Suyono (2012).

2 4.5. Results of partial significance test

Regression standardized residual

According to Table 7, work experience has a regression coef-

ficient amounted to 0.201 and has a t value of 4.14 with a
significance level of 0.00 or less than 0.05. This suggests that
0
H1 is accepted which means that work experience has a sig-
nificant effect on audit quality. The result of this research
is consistent with research of Carolita and Rahardjo (2012),
Saripudin et al. (2012) and Sukriah et al. (2009). But these
-2 results contradict Samsi et al. (2013) and Singgih and Bawono
(2010).
Professional competence has a regression coefficient
equal to 0.412. The t value is 2.189 with significance level
of 0.031 or less than 0.05, suggesting that H2 is accepted.
-4 This means that professional competence has effect on
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
audit quality. The result of this research is consistent with
Regression standardized predicted value
research of Ardini (2010), Ilamiyati and Suhardjo (2012),
Kharismatuti and Hadiprajitno (2012), Ramadhanis (2012)
Figure 2 Results of heteroscedasticity test here. and Sukriah et al. (2009). Moreover, this research result
contradicts with Carolita and Rahardjo (2012), Rafiee et al.
(2013) and Samsi et al. (2013).
4.4. Result of simultaneous significance test Motivation has regression coefficients according to four
independent variables: character type, internal and exter-
Based on the F test, the F value has significance less than nal control, audit norms and ethical culture in firm. The
0.05. The results show how much of the regression model regression coefficients are equal to 0.004, 0.105, 0.194 and
can be used to predict quality audit (Table 6). 0.161. The t values are 0.022, 0.618, 1.058 and 0.688,
Based on F test, the obtained F value is 6.973 with a with significance levels of 0.982, 0.538, 0.293 and 0.493 or
significance of 0.000 or less than 0.05. The results show greater than 0.05. Thus, suggest H3 is rejected, which means
that the regression model can be used to predict quality motivation has no effect on audit quality. The result of this
audit. Work experience, professional competence, motiva- research is consistent with research of Ardini (2010) and
tion, accountability and objectivity simultaneously have a Ramadhanis (2012). However, this result contradicts with
significant effect on audit quality. The result of the F-test that of Aghaei and Ahmadi (2015), Efendy (2010), Malekian
is consistent with research of Ardini (2010), Arianti, Sujana, and Tavakolnia (2014) and Rosnidah, Rawi, and Kamarudin
and Putra (2014), Ilamiyati and Suhardjo (2012), Ramadhanis (2011).

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The effect of auditor features on audit quality 7

Table 6 ANOVA.a
Model Sum of squares df Mean square F Sig.
1 Regression 32.979 8 4.122 6.973 0.000b
Residual 54.982 93 0.591
Total 87.961 101
a Dependent variable: AQ.
b Predictors: (Constant), OB, AN, WE, CT, AC, IEC, PC, EC.

Table 7 Coefficients.a
Model Unstandardized coefficients Standardized coefficients t Sig.

B Std. error Beta

1 (Constant) 0.066 0.942 0.07 0.945
WE 0.201 0.048 0.359 4.14 0.00
PC 0.412 0.188 0.209 2.189 0.031
CT 0.004 0.164 0.002 0.022 0.982
IEC 0.105 0.17 0.056 0.618 0.538
AN 0.194 0.184 0.097 1.058 0.293
EC 0.161 0.234 0.066 0.688 0.493
AC 0.173 0.076 0.198 2.264 0.026
OB 0.675 0.204 0.283 3.301 0.001
a Dependent variable: AQ.

Accountability has a regression coefficient amounted to auditor’s competency shows that the auditor has a great
0.173 and a t value of 2.264 with a significance level of 0.026 curiosity, broadminded, able to handle uncertainty and
or less than 0.05. Thus, H4 is accepted, which means that able to work in teams. The auditor also has the ability
accountability has effect on audit quality. The result of this to conduct an analytical review, knowledge concerning the
research is consistent with research of Barzideh and Kheirol- organizational theory, auditing and public sector, as well as
lahi (2012), Bustami (2013), Saripudin et al. (2012) and accounting. The auditors also have the expertise to inter-
Singgih and Bawono (2010). However, this research result view, quick read, understand statistic science, expertise to
contradicts with Ardini (2010). use computers, so the audit quality is increasing as well.
Objectivity presents a regression coefficient of 0.204 and Competencies are important for the auditor. The compe-
a t value amounted to 3.301 with significance level of 0.001 tency principle requires the auditor to maintain professional
or less than 0.05. Given that H5 is accepted, objectivity knowledge and expertise required to ensure the competent
affects audit quality. The result of this research is consis- professional service provision for the clients or employers.
tent with Arianti et al. (2014), Carolita and Rahardjo (2012) Auditor also still has to maintain and improve his compe-
and Sukriah et al. (2009), but contradicts with Hajiha and tences on an on going level which can be done by joining
Rafiee (2014). the sustainable professional education so that clients can
Multiple regression equation of this research is: receive competent professional services.
The third hypothesis: Audit motivation is rejected, which
AQ = 0.066 + 0.201 WE + 0.412 PC + 0.004 CT + 0.105 IEC
means that there is no significant relationship between the
+ 0.194 AN + 0.161 EC + 0.173 AC + 0.675 OB auditor incentives and quality of audit. Considering that
audit was measured by four control variables of character
type, internal and external control, audit norms and ethical
culture in firm, all the four variables are significantly related
5. Conclusion to audit quality. None of the variables intended in organiza-
tion are observed. It is based on some auditors who do not
The first hypothesis is accepted. Thus, people with more understand general accounting. In fact, sanctions, impris-
experience provide higher audit quality. Because most of onment and criminal fines that are set so that for public
the people who filled the questionnaire had more working accountants may do their job based on standards are not
experience and this has led to better audit quality. They are applicable. Iran’s civil law is applied for public accounting.
involved in spectrum of the process of audit and have special The fourth hypothesis: Accepted, which means account-
capabilities of auditing. Some of the duties of the audit that ability affects audit quality. Accountability indicates that
has been done are enough for the average of learning. the auditor can complete the audit work well and on time,
The second hypothesis: Accepted, which means profes- convinced that his work is carefully examined, reviewed by
sional competency affects audit quality. The increasing of the supervisor, and accountable to the employer. Auditors

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8 S. Zahmatkesh, J. Rezazadeh

also conduct an audit based on a vigorous effort, using the komitmen organisasi terhadap kualitas hasil audit [Effect of work
power of thought, mobilizing energy and mind. Thus, audit experience, independence, objectivity, integrity, competence
quality is increased. Accountability is very important for the and organizational commitment on the quality of audit results].
auditor as a factor affecting the audit quality. Accuracy and Diponegoro Journal of Accounting, 1(2), 1---11.
precision emphasize the auditor’s responsibility in carrying de Angelo, L. E. (1981). Auditor size and audit quality. Journal of
Accounting and Economics, 3(3), 183---199.
out his job.
Efendy, M. T. (2010). (Effect of competence, independence,
The fifth hypothesis: Accepted, which mean objectivity and motivation on audit quality apparatus regional financial
affects audit quality. The increasing auditor’s objectivity supervisory inspectorate) Pengaruh kompetensi, indepen-
indicates that the auditor who can act fairly without pres- densi, dan motivasi terhadap kualitas audit aparat inspek-
sure or demand influenced by certain interested parties on torat dalam pengawasan keuangan daerah (Master’s thesis).
the audit will refuse to accept audits if he has a cooperative Semarang, Indonesia: Diponegoro University. Retrieved from
relationship with the party being examined. The auditor’s http://eprints.undip.ac.id/24634/1/Muh. Taufiq Efendy.pdf
objectivity can be developed based on the willingness to Fisher, R. T. (2001). Role stress, the type A behaviour pattern, and
conduct an audit considering the generally accepted stan- external auditor job satisfaction and performance. Behavioural
dards and the real situation. Research in Accounting, 13(1), 143---170.
Hajiha, Z., & Rafiee, R. (2014). The impact on the timeliness of qual-
The limitations of this study include using one source
ity internal audit function independent audit report. Research
(questionnaire) to collect information. This limitation means in Financial Accounting and Auditing, 24(6), 121---137.
that the results cannot be generalized. Because the data is Ilamiyati, F., & Suhardjo, Y. (2012). Pengaruh akuntabilitas dan
collected through a questionnaire, the results are influenced kompetensi auditor terhadap kualitas audit [The effect of
by the honesty and integrity of respondents. According to accountability and auditor competence on audit quality].
previous research, the case of auditors reporting discovered Juraksi, 1(1), 43---56.
errors is only attainable by asking them questions. Kharismatuti, N., & Hadiprajitno, P. B. (2012). Pengaruh kompetensi
In this study only independent auditors’ opinions were dan independensi terhadap kualitas audit dengan etika auditor
investigated and internal and governmental auditors were sebagai variabel moderasi [The influence of competence and
independence on audit quality with auditor ethics as a modera-
not studied. This limitation does not allow results to be
tion variable]. Diponegoro Journal of Accounting, 1(1), 1---10.
generalized to other sectors and other levels of audit.
Krishnan, J., & Schauer, P. C. (2000). The differentiation of quality
The distribution of the questionnaire was done in the among auditors: Evidence from the not-for-profit sector. Audit-
peak season, so call auditors in filling out the questionnaires ing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 19(2), 9---25.
is low. Should not be done when auditors in the course of Malekian, E., & Tavakolnia, E. (2014). The effect of ethical culture
doing better respond to the questionnaire. under budget pressure on audit quality time. Auditing: Theory
The adjusted R-square value is 0.321. This indicates that and Practice, 1(1), 21---47.
the remaining 67.9% is explained by other variables that are Mohd Nor, M. (2011). Auditor stress: Antecedents and relationships
not used in this study. The researchers should add other to audit quality (Doctoral dissertation). Perth, Australia: Edith
independent variables such as independence, integrity, time Cowan University.
Paino, H., Ismail, Z., & Smith, M. (2010). Dysfunctional audit
budget pressure, remuneration and auditor tenure.
behaviour: An exploratory study in Malaysia. Asian Review of
Accounting, 18(2), 162---173.
Rafiee, A., Karimian, M., Mahmoudi, A., & Haghighi, Y. (2013). Inter-
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Please cite this article in press as: Zahmatkesh, S., & Rezazadeh, J. The effect of auditor features on audit quality.
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