Accounting Analysis Journal 7(3) (2018) 168-175

Accounting Analysis Journal

https://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/aaj

The Factors Affecting the Audit Quality with the Understanding on

Information Systems as the Moderating Variable

Dimas Dwi Oktavianto*1 and Dhini Suryandari2

Accounting Department, Faculty of Economics, Semarang State University
1,2

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article History: This study aims to examine the role of understanding of information systems in mod-
Received January 15, 2018 erating the influence of auditor experience and audit complexity on audit quality. The
Accepted March 1, 2018 population in this study is the auditor at the Public Accounting Firm in Semarang City
Available November 30, 2018 as many as 17 KAP with a population of 255 auditors. The sampling technique uses
convenience sampling. The number of samples that can be processed by 54 respond-
ents. The test was done by multiple regression test to test the independent variable and
Keywords:
the interaction test (moderated regression analysis) to test the moderation variable. The
Audit Complexity; results showed that partially experience of auditors does not affect the quality of audit,
Auditor Experience; audit complexity negatively affect the quality of audits, and understanding of informa-
Audit Quality; tion systems have a positive effect on audit quality. The result of moderation testing
Understanding of Information shows that the understanding of the information system is not able to moderate the in-
System fluence of the auditor’s experience on audit quality but can moderate the effect of audit
complexity on audit quality. The conclusion of this study is that high audit complexity
will reduce audit quality, and understanding of good information system will improve
audit quality, and understanding of good information system will weaken audit com-
plexity to audit quality.

© 2018 Published by UNNES. This is an open access

article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

INTRODUCTION gih & Bawono, 2009) is the attitude of the auditor in

carrying out his duties which is reflected in the results
External auditor is a profession whose duties are
of his audit that can be relied on in accordance with the
to carry out an audit of the financial statements of a
applicable standards.
company and give opinions or views on financial state-
An auditor in carrying out financial statement
ments whether they have been presented fairly in ac-
audit activities is not only for the interests of the client,
cordance with Indonesian FAS (Financial Accounting
but the results of the audit are also needed by several
Standards) and produce a qualified audit reports. Audit
other parties which have interest in audited financial
quality is the probability that the auditor will find and
statements. Other parties of the company, which usu-
report violations on the client’s accounting system (De
ally consist of several parties such as, corporate owners,
Angelo, 1981).
employees, investors, creditors, government agencies,
The quality or failure of auditor’s work will affect
non-profit organizations, and the public as well as other
auditor’s final conclusion and indirectly affect whether
parties involved to assess the company and make strate-
accurate or not the decisions will be taken by parties
gic decisions and long-term interests related to the com-
outside the company. The perception about audit qual-
pany. In this case, the public accountant has function as
ity is important because it can help regulators and the
a third party that connects the management of the com-
accounting profession to formulate policies based on the
pany with parties outside the company concerned. From
empirical evidence (Al-khaddash, Nawas, & Ramadan,
the profession of public accounting, the public expects a
2013). So that auditors are required to feel responsible
free and impartial assessment on the information pre-
(accountability) in carrying out their work and have a
sented by company management in financial statements
professional attitude. Audit Quality according to (Sing-
(Mulyadi & Puradireja, Hanjani & Rahardja, 2014)
* E-mail: dhini.surya@mail.unnes.ac.id
Nevertheless, at present, there are many cases in-
Address: L2 Building 2nd floor, Campus Sekaran, Gunungpati, volving the ethics of auditors in the audit process of the
Semarang, Indonesia, 50229 company’s financial statements that cause a decrease in

DOI 10.15294/aaj.v7i3.21008 p-ISSN 2252-6765 e-ISSN 2502-6216

169 Dimas Dwi Oktavianto and Dhini Suryandari, The Factors Affecting the Audit Quality with the Understanding on Information...

the quality of audit results due to fraudulent practices assignment. The understanding of auditors on informa-
by external auditors and their clients. For example is tion systems will be very helpful to support the running
the freezing of licenses to Public Accountant Justinus of auditing activities smoothly to produce better reports.
Aditya Sidharta. , in this case, Justinus was proven to The Results from previous studies conducted by Prasita
have committed a violation of SPAP related to the Audit & Adi, (2007) also concluded that the understanding on
Report on the PT Great River International Tbk Conso- information systems has a positive influence on audit
lidated Financial Statements in 2003, allegedly occurred quality.
in the practice of overstatement in the preparation of Based on the results of previous studies regard-
financial reports and cases involving leading pharma- ing auditor experience and audit complexity variables,
ceutical companies namely PT Kimia Farma. the researchers will try to make the variable of the un-
This company has overstated financial statements. derstanding on information systems as a variable to
i.e. in the new financial statements, the profits presented moderate the influence of auditor experience and audit
were only Rp. 99.56 billion, or lower by Rp. 32.6 billion, complexity on audit quality. The variable of the under-
or 24.7% of the initial profit reported. The mistake arose standing on information systems is expected to be able
in the Raw Material Industry unit, namely the mistake to moderate the influence of auditor experience on audit
in the form of overstated sales of Rp 2.7 billion, in the quality. Thus, the produced audit quality becomes bet-
Central Logistics unit in the form of overstated inven- ter and weakens the influence of high audit complexity
tory of goods of Rp 23.9 billion, in the Pharmaceutical on audit quality so that it is expected to produce better
Wholesalers unit in the form of overstated inventory of audit quality results with reduced audit complexity be-
Rp 8.1 billion and overstated sales amounting to Rp 10.7 cause there is a positive influence of the understanding
billion. on the information system. The purpose of this study it-
This case concerns the name of the well-known self is to examine whether auditor experience and audit
KAP, Hans Tuanakotta & Mustofa (HTM) because it is complexity variables can influence on audit quality and
as an external auditor from Kimia Farma, but Tuana- to determine whether the understanding on information
kotta KAP has followed the applicable audit standards, systems can moderate the influence of auditor experi-
but failed to detect the fraud. In addition, the KAP was ence and audit complexity on audit quality.
also not proven to help management commit fraud. Attribution Theory is introduced by Fritz Heider
In previous studies that examined the relationship in 1958 regarding attribution of causality. Attribution is
of factors that influence audit quality have different re- the process of concluding the motives, intentions, and
sults / conclusions. One factor that can affect audit qual- characteristics of other people by looking at their visible
ity is the auditor’s experience. The results of the research behaviour. According to Heider someone can make two
conducted by (Aisyah & Sukirman, 2015) concluded attributions 1) internal attribution, the conclusion that
that the auditor’s experience has a positive effect on someone behaves in a certain way because of something
audit quality. This result is in line with the research of about people, such as attitude, character or personality.
(Hanjani & Rahardja, 2014) and (Khalidah, Purnamasa- 2) external attribution, the conclusion that someone be-
ri, & Kurniawan, 2015) which conclude the same results haves in a certain way because of something about the
which state that the auditor’s experience has a positive situation he enters
and significant effect on audit quality. Different result This theory refers to how someone explains the
is shown in the study conducted by Furiady & Kurnia, cause of another person / himself who will be deter-
(2015) and research conducted by Badjuri, (2011) which mined whether from the internal side for example the
state that the auditor’s experience has no significant ef- nature, character, attitude etc. or externally for example
fect on audit quality. The result of this study concludes the pressure of certain situations / conditions that will
that the auditor’s experience does not guarantee that the influence the behaviour of individuals (Luthans in Caro-
auditor can produce the qualified audit. lita & Rahardjo, 2012)
Apart from experience factors, audit quality pro- Law of Yerkes-Dodson (Reverse U Model) cre-
duced by auditors can be influenced by other factors, ated by psychologists Robert Yerkes and Dodson John
namely audit complexity, and the understanding of in- in 1908. This theory explains the relationship between
formation systems. The result of the research conducted stress and performance. Described with horizontal lines
by (Prasita & Adi, 2007) and also the result of the re- as stress and perpendicular (vertical) lines as perfor-
search conducted by (Herawati, Hasbullah, & Sulinda- mance with an inverted U-shaped curve. This law states
wati, 2014) stated that audit complexity has a negative that performance increases according to a certain level
and significant effect on audit quality. However, dif- of assignment still in accordance with ability but only at
ferent result is shown by research of Widiarta, (2013) a certain point, when the level of performance becomes
which concludes that audit complexity has a significant too high / too many assignments, performance actually
positive effect on audit quality. decreases. Thus, if the level of stress is low, then the im-
In addition to auditor experience and audit com- plementation of the tasks given will be better, more in-
plexity factors, the researchers also add the influence of tense, and faster. On the other hand, if the level of stress
the variable of the understanding on information sys- is high, it will cause dysfunctional behaviour and will
tems on audit quality. The understanding of information result in a decrease in the quality of one’s performance
systems is the auditor’s ability to understand informa- resulting in the implementation of tasks is not in accord-
tion systems that exist as integrated tools in each audit ance with the expectation/ less good.
 Accounting Analysis Journal 7(3) (2018) 168-175 170

An auditor’s work experience also affects good or and the mandate of the organization. The understan-
not the quality of the audit produced by an auditor. The ding on information systems is highly needed in audi-
experience of the audit is indicated by flight hours in ting client companies’ financial statements both the un-
conducting audit procedures related to giving opinions derstanding of information systems generally and client
on their audit report. Auditors who have different expe- companies’ information systems. The understanding on
riences, will also be different in looking at and respond- information systems by auditors will be very helpful to
ing to information obtained during conducting an audit support the smooth running of auditing activities to pro-
and also in giving audit conclusions to the object being duce better audit quality.
audited in the form of giving opinions. A long work- Attribution theory states that a person’s
ing period actually improves audit quality and a short behaviour can be influenced by internal attribution, as
period of time is associated with low audit quality (Te- well as external. The understanding on Information
palagul & Lin, 2015) so the more auditor experience can Systems is an internal attribution that originates from
produce more expectations in explaining audit findings. one’s own behaviour. The result of the research conducted
Attribution theory is used to explain the relation- by Riespika & Supadmini, (2012) concludes that the
ship between auditor experience and audit quality. Ex- Understanding of Information Systems influences on
perience becomes a causal factor (internal attribution) Audit Quality. The result of the study indicates that the
the auditor produces audit quality. Therefore, it can be Understanding on Information Systems has a positive
concluded that the behaviour is influential on the work effect on Audit Quality.
experience of an auditor, the better the behaviour of an H3 : The Understanding of Information Systems has
auditor, the work experience produced will be the high- a positive effect on Audit Quality
er the ability. According to Hanjani & Rahardja, (2014)
concluded that the auditor’s experience has a significant The higher the auditor’s experience, the more ca-
positive effect on audit quality. According to Zu’amah, pable and proficient the auditor is in mastering his duties
(2009) an auditor who has more experience in auditing and the activities he audits compared to an auditor who
financial statements certainly has a variety of findings has little experience. As time goes on, the auditor needs
in each audit, such as indications of fraud, incomplete to understand information system technology in accord-
documents, manipulation of the data, and various cases ance with the development of the times. Because of the
involving internal corporate parties. So the hypothesis ability, experience and knowledge in the field of audit
proposed in this study: is quite high but not accompanied by knowledge in the
field of high information technology, the auditor will be
H1 : The Auditor’s experience has a positive effect on less competitive and assignments in audit activities to be
Audit Quality less efficient both in terms of economics and time, this
Audit complexity is based on individual percep- is because many companies have using computerized in-
tions about the difficulties of an audit task. This percep- formation systems.
tion raises the possibility that an audit task is difficult Whether we want it or not in conducting audit-
for someone, but may also be easy for others (Setyarini, ing activities, auditors are required to understand client
2004). As well as audit complexity is the perception of company’s information system. So, with the help of
the thought processes complexity needed to complete the understanding on information technology and the
each task (Bowrin & King, 2010). Audit becomes in- experience of auditors in the audit field which is long
creasingly complex because of the level of difficulty enough, it is expected that the auditor can present in-
(task difficulty) and audits task variability that increase. formation faster, more accurately and reliably as well
The complexity of the audit can cause accountants to as produce the result of qualified audit. As well as the
behave dysfunctionally, causing a decrease in audit qual- understanding on information systems can help junior
ity. / less experienced auditors in carrying out the audit
The Reverse U Model Theory is used to relate the process so that it can produce qualified audit reports.
audit complexity to audit quality. Job stress experienced The results of several previous studies explain that audi-
by an auditor can be in the form of high complexity of tor’s experience does not affect on audit quality, such as
the task where high level of audit complexity can cause research conducted by (Badjuri, 2011) and (Furiady &
accountants to behave dysfunctionally so that it will af- Kurnia, 2015)
fect auditor performance worse and will reduce audit Attribution theory states that internal forces and
quality. Research conducted by Herawati et al., (2014) external forces together determine human behaviour.
states that audit complexity has a negative effect on au- This Attribution Theory is used to explain the relation-
dit quality. ship between the influences of auditor experience on au-
H2 : Audit Complexity has a negative effect on the dit quality moderated by the understanding on informa-
Audit Quality tion systems. This is due to these two factors originate
from the internal behaviour of an auditor.
The understanding on information systems here
means the auditor’s ability to understand the existing H4 : The Understanding on Information Systems
information system. The understanding on information moderates the influence of auditor experience
systems is how far the information system as an integra- on audit quality
ted tool in each job both because of individual choices Previous studies tend to conclude that Audit
171 Dimas Dwi Oktavianto and Dhini Suryandari, The Factors Affecting the Audit Quality with the Understanding on Information...

Complexity will affect audit quality negatively. This is produce qualified audit reports.
because the more complex or difficult an audit task re- Attribution theory states that internal forces and
ceived by an auditor, will make the level of success in external forces together determine human behaviour.
achieving the target / objectives of audit tasks to be re- This Attribution Theory is used to explain the relation-
duced and can affect emotional conditions of the audi- ship between the influences of audit complexity on audit
tor to act dysfunctional / improper which can directly quality moderated by the understanding on information
cause a decrease in audit quality. Auditors need to un- systems. Audit complexity is an external attribution and
derstand a system / technology recently, especially able the understanding on information system is an external
to understand the client company’s information systems attribution. The results of the research conducted by
that are audited, so that the audit is not limited to com- Prasita & Adi, (2007) conclude that showing the inter-
panies that do not use information technology. action between task complexity and the understanding
With the understanding on information system of information systems indicates a positive influence on
will help auditor in determining the right audit proce- audit quality.
dures so that the complexity of audit tasks is reduced
H5 : The Understanding of Information Systems
because by understanding the information system both
moderates the effect of Audit Complexity on
globally and the corporate information systems audited
audit quality
will give convenience and facilitate auditing activities
even with a high level of complexity so that they can

Auditor's
H1
Experience

H4

Understanding of
Information Systems Audit Quality
H3

Audit Complexity
H2

Figure1. Research Model

RESEARCH METHODS used convenience-sampling technique. The purpose of
this sampling technique was to gather information from
The design of this study used a quantitative ap-
participants who were easily accessed by the researchers
proach with research studies of hypothesis testing to
(Etikan, 2016)
examine the influence between hypothesized variables. The variables used in this study are four, namely
The type of data used in this study was primary data Auditor Experience and Audit Complexity variables as
obtained by survey methods through data collection independent variables, the understanding on informati-
techniques with questionnaires. The population used in on systems as the independent variable as well as the
this study were all independent auditors working at 17 moderating variable, Audit quality as the dependent va-
KAPs in the city of Semarang. The samples used in this riable. The following are the research variables and their
study were 54 respondents. The sampling of this study measurement methods:

Table 1. Operationalization of the Research Variables

Variables Definition Measurement
Audit Quality auditor The quality of the Proposing audit findings accurately and objectively
audit results of the financial Reporting all auditee’s mistakes,
statements conducted by the Completing the audit on time,
auditor Guided by Public Accountant Professional Standards (SPAP),
(De Angelo, 1981) Be careful in every decision making,
Recommendations that match the cause of the error,
Providing recommendations on audit report that are clear and
understandable by the auditee
(Primastuti & Dhini, 2014)
Auditor Experi- A measure of the length Duration of Work As an auditor,
ence of time or period of Many Inspection Tasks
work that an auditor has The number of types of companies he has ever studied (Ang-
taken(Sukriyah, Akram, & griawan, 2014)
Inapty, 2009)
 Accounting Analysis Journal 7(3) (2018) 168-175 172

The Continous of Table 1. Operationalization of the Research Variables

Variables Definition Measurement
Audit Complex- The process of each indi- Clarity of duty.
ity vidual in facing difficulties in Level of difficulty,
an audit task (Prasita & Adi, Complexity / Variety of Tasks
2007) (Prasita & Adi, 2007)
Understanding The auditor’s ability to Understanding of information systems
of Information understand existing informa- Understanding of client company information systems
Systems tion systems (Prasita & Adi, Benefits of Understanding Information Systems (Prasita & Adi,
2007) 2007)
Source : Writer’s summary, 2017
The distribution of research questionnaires was test, multiple regression analysis, and moderation reg-
conducted in July 2017. There were 8 KAPs which re- ression analysis (MRA) with interaction tests.
fused to fill out questionnaires and 9 KAPs who were
willing to fill out questionnaires. The number of ques- RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
tionnaires distributed by 80 questionnaires and 54 ques-
The number of questionnaires collected was 54
tionnaires that could be processed. The method of data
out of 80 questionnaires distributed, so the response rate
analysis was done in several stages. Data were analyzed
was 67.5%. The number of questionnaires entered came
using descriptive statistical analysis (mean value, ma-
from 9 Public Accounting Firms (KAP). The results of
ximum value, and minimum value). Furthermore, the
the descriptive statistics of all the variables are presented
instrument test was conducted, namely validity and re-
in the following Table 2.
liability, testing data, namely the classical assumption

Table 2. Results of Variable Descriptive Analysis

Variables N Minimum Maximum Mean Categories
Audit Quality 54 24 35 28.46 Qualified
Auditor’s Experience 54 3 13 5.75 Less Experienced
Audit Complexity 54 10 30 23.48 Very Complex
Understanding of
54 21 31 26.51 Very High
Information System
Source: The Results of Research Data Processing, 2017

The instrument testing was carried out by pilot the Glejser test shows the results that the significance is
test to 20 auditors working on 2 KAP, namely Bayudi above 0.05 or 5% and the variable does not occur hete-
KAP and BAP KAP. The validity testing uses bivariate roscedasticity symptoms.
analysis and shows that all the statement items in each The results of testing the coefficient of determi-
variable has a significance value below 0.05 so that it nation, the value of Adjusted R Square is 0.309 which
is declared valid. The reliability testing shows that each means that 30.9% of audit quality variables can be ex-
variable has a Cronbach Alpha value above 0.7. From plained by the variations of the independent variables
these results, all the variables are declared reliable. The and moderating variable used in this study, namely au-
classical assumption testing shows that the data is nor- ditor experience, audit complexity, and the understan-
mal which is stated with a significance value of 0.818 ding on information systems. While the remaining 70%
or above 0.05. The multicollinearity test shows that the is explained by other variables outside the model applied
value of tolerance is more than 0.10 and the VIF value in this study.
is less than 10, so there is no correlation between inde- The results of the recapitulation of hypothesis
pendent variables and the regression model does not oc- testing in this study are presented in Table 3.
cur multicollinearity. The heteroscedasticity testing uses

Table 3. The Result of Hypothesis Test

Hypothesis Statement β Sig α Results
H1 Auditor’s Experience has a positive effect on audit quality -0.166 0.124 0.05 Rejected
H2 Audit complexity has a negative effect on audit quality -0.117 0.017 0.05 Accepted
H3 The Understanding of Information Systems has a positive 0.403 0.000 0.05 Accepted
effect on Audit Quality
H4 The Understanding on Information Systems moderates the 0.060 0.202 0.05 Rejected
influence of Auditor Experience on Audit Quality
H5 The Understanding of Information Systems moderates the 0.075 0.015 0.05 Accepted
effect of Audit Complexity on Audit Quality
Source: The Result of Research Data Processing, 2017
173 Dimas Dwi Oktavianto and Dhini Suryandari, The Factors Affecting the Audit Quality with the Understanding on Information...

The Effect of Auditor Experience on Audit Quality U model theory (Yerkes Dodson Law) explaining the
relationship between stress and performance. So that if
The first hypothesis in this study states that au-
a stress level is high, it will cause a dysfunctional per-
ditor experience has a positive effect on audit quality.
son’s behaviour and high stress will give many demands,
Based on the result of the study, it indicates that the
causing a decrease in the performance of the person in
auditor’s experience does not significantly influence
a job. This theory is used to relate the complexity of the
on the audit quality. Thus, the first hypothesis of this
audit to audit quality. Job stress experienced by an audi-
study is rejected. The result of the study states that the
tor can be in the form of high complexity of audit tasks
auditor’s experience does not affect on audit quality.
where if the level of complexity of the audit is high, it
This is because most of the respondents in this study
can cause accountants to behave dysfunctionally so that
are inexperienced auditors and many auditors who serve
it will affect auditor performance worse and will reduce
as junior auditors so that the respondents’ responses to
audit quality.
questions related to experience variable tends to produ-
ce low answers. This is due to there are still little audit
The Effect of Information System Understanding on
assignments received by junior auditors and junior au-
Audit Quality
ditors’ work experience as auditors are still lacking so
that the knowledge and skills possessed regarding audit The third hypothesis in this study states that the
assignments are still lacking. understanding of information systems has a positive ef-
Auditors who have long worked / careers will fect on audit quality. Based on the results of the study, it
have greater experience compared to auditors who have indicates that understanding of information systems has
just worked / careers. Auditors who have worked for a positive effect on audit quality. Based on this, the study
a long time certainly have more knowledge and skills received H3. The result of the study states that the un-
in auditing financial statements, so the results of the derstanding on information systems has a positive effect
audit will be more objective. Adequate auditor experi- on audit quality because the understanding of auditors
ence is very important to give consideration in relation on information systems will greatly help to support au-
to the level of materiality in the audit process (Usman, diting activities to produce better reports. This under-
2016). The result of this study is in line with the research standing also makes it easy for auditors to optimize any
conducted by (Badjuri, 2011) and (Singgih & Bawono, audit technology used, so that auditing activities can be
2009) which states that the auditor’s experience does not done more quickly. The process of application based on
affect on audit quality. information technology will help the auditor in the pro-
The result of this study is in line with attribution cess of planning, implementing, monitoring, and app-
theory which explains that the motive of a person’s be- lying audit procedures (Yeghaneh et al, 2015)
haviour in doing something is influenced by internal and The difference in the level of the understanding
external factors. Thus, it can be concluded that the be- on information systems by auditors causes the emer-
haviour affects the work experience of an auditor. The gence of various ways that can be done by auditors in
better the behaviour of an auditor, the work experience conducting audit activities, namely time differences, re-
generated will be the higher. In this study explained that liability, and accuracy in completing audit activities. The
a little auditor experience would produce poor audit result of this study is in line with the research conducted
quality. by (Prasita & Adi, 2007) and (Riespika & Supadmini,
2012)
The Effect of Audit Complexity on Audit Quality The result of this study is in line with attribution
theory that the motive of a person’s behaviour in doing
The second hypothesis in this study states that
something is influenced by internal and external factors.
audit complexity has a negative effect on audit quality.
Based on this theory, internal factors derived from the
Based on the result of the study, it indicates that audit
knowledge within the auditor about information sys-
complexity negatively affects on audit quality. Based on
tems that will affect his work.
this, this study accepts H2.
The result of this study states that audit complex-
The Effect of Auditor Experience on Audit Quality
ity has a negative effect on audit quality. This is due to
with the Understanding on information systems as
the higher the complexity in the audit assignment carried
the Moderating Variable
out by the auditor, it can have an impact on the decline
in audit quality. Moreover, if there is an increase in com- The fourth hypothesis in this study states that
plexity in an audit assignment will affect the decline of the understanding of information systems can modera-
success rate and higher audit complexity can cause the te the influence of auditor experience on audit quality.
auditor to behave dysfunctionally / improperly, causing Based on the result of the study, it shows the testing of
a decrease in audit quality. Therefore, an auditor must the moderator variable with the interaction test of the
have experience, more knowledge in carrying out the au- understanding on information systems as moderating
dit process to deal with the complexity of tasks that are the auditor’s experience with audit quality shows that
increasingly complex and high. The result of this study the understanding of information system variable is not
is in line with the research conducted by (Prasita & Adi, able to moderate the effect of auditor experience on au-
2007) and research conducted by (Herawati et al., 2014) dit quality. Thus, the 4th hypothesis is rejected.
The result of this study is in line with the reverse The result of the study states that the understan-
 Accounting Analysis Journal 7(3) (2018) 168-175 174

ding of information systems cannot moderate the in- qualified audits. This is in line with the research con-
fluence of auditor experience on audit quality. This is ducted by (Prasita & Adi, 2007)
due to experienced and less experienced auditors cannot The result of this study is in line with the two
improve audit quality even though it is moderated by theories used in this study, namely attribution theory
the understanding on information systems. This is sup- and reverse u model theory that the motive of a person’s
ported by the results of descriptive analysis which state behaviour in doing something is influenced by internal
that auditors who are the sample in this study on average and external factors. Based on this theory, internal fac-
are inexperienced because they are dominated by junior tors originate from the auditor’s inner knowledge of in-
auditors and the understanding on information systems formation systems that will influence his work and the
both globally and client information systems is still low. inverse U model theory (Yerkes Dodson’s Law) explains
This is caused by the knowledge of information systems the relationship between stress and performance. Thus,
owned by auditors is also influenced by the experience high stress level will cause a dysfunctional person’s be-
of the auditor. The higher the auditor’s experience, the haviour and will provide many demands, causing a de-
higher the understanding on information system. crease in the performance of the person in a job.
The result of this study is in line with attribution This theory is used to relate the audit complexity
theory that the motive of a person’s behaviour in doing to audit quality. Job stress experienced by an auditor can
something is influenced by internal and external factors. be in the form of high complexity of audit tasks where
Based on this theory, internal factors originate from the if the level of audit complexity is high, it can cause ac-
auditor’s experience and the auditor’s knowledge of in- countants to behave dysfunctionally so that it will affect
formation systems that will influence the results of his auditor performance worse and will reduce audit qual-
work in producing audit quality. ity. Howeverm the understanding / knowledge of au-
ditors regarding information systems will reduce stress
The Effect of Audit Complexity on Audit Quality levels caused by high audit complexity resulting in good
with the Understanding of Information Systems as
audit quality.
the Moderating Variable
The fifth hypothesis in this study states that the CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
understanding of information systems can moderate the Saran untuk penelitian selanjutnya yang meng-
influence of audit complexity on audit quality. Based on gunakan variabel Pemahaman terhadap Sistem Infor-
the result of the study, the testing of the moderator vari- masi sebagai variabel moderating dapat menggunakan
able with the interaction test of the understanding on indikator yang berbeda dari penelitian ini, dikarenakan
the information system variable as moderating the audit pada penelitian ini variabel pemahaman terhadap sis-
complexity on audit quality states that the understand- tem informasi ada yang tidak dapat menjadi moderasi.
ing on information system weakens the relationship be- Dalam penelitian ini objek yang dijadikan sampel (res-
tween audit complexity and audit quality. ponden) terbatas, baik dari segi jumlah maupun lingkup
Testing on the interaction of the understanding area (hanya auditor di lingkup KAP Kota Semarang).
on information is to moderate the relationship of au- Penelitan dalam jumlah sampel yang lebih banyak dan
dit complexity. This means that the understanding on lingkup area yang lebih luas dapat dilakukan agar dipe-
information systems is proven to be able to weaken the roleh daya generalisasi hasil penelitian yang lebih baik.
relationship between the audit complexity and audit The conclusions of this study are that there are
quality. This result indicates that the understanding on partially simultaneous significant effects between audit
information systems variable is a variable that moder- complexity that have a negative effect and understan-
ates by weakening the influence of the audit complex- ding of information systems that have a positive effect
ity on audit quality. Based on this, the study accepts H5. on audit quality. The auditor’s experience does not af-
So that the higher the level of audit complexity but if fect audit quality, understanding information systems
the auditor’s understanding of the information system is cannot moderate the influence of auditor experience on
high it will produce good audit quality. audit quality. understanding of information systems is
The understanding on the information system able to moderate the effect of audit complexity on audit
will help the auditor in determining the right audit pro- quality.
cedures so that the complexity of audit tasks is reduced Suggestions for further research that uses the va-
because by understanding the information system both riable of Understanding on Information Systems as the
globally and audited corporate information systems moderating variable can use different indicators of this
will provide convenience and facilitate auditing activi- study, because in this study, the the variable of under-
ties even with a high level of complexity so that they standing on information systems cannot be moderating.
can produce qualified audit reports. Information sys- In this study, the objects used as samples (respondents)
tem expertise will greatly help auditors to facilitate au- are limited, both in terms of number and scope of area
dits (shorten audit time), which can ultimately produce (only auditors in the scope of Semarang City Public Ac-
higher qualified audit reports.(Wijaya & Yulyona, 2017) counting Firm). Research in a larger number of samples
Understanding of auditors of information systems can and a wider area of ​​scope can be done so that the results
weaken the negative influence of complexity to produce of generalization of research results are better obtained.
175 Dimas Dwi Oktavianto and Dhini Suryandari, The Factors Affecting the Audit Quality with the Understanding on Information...

REFERENCES Kualitas Audit. Prosiding Penelitian SpeSIA, 1(2), 236–

243.
Aisyah, E. A., & Sukirman. (2015). Hubungan Pengalaman,
Prasita, A., & Adi, P. H. (2007). Pengaruh Kompleksitas Tu-
Time Budget Pressure, Kompensasi terhadap Kualitas gas dan Tekanan Anggaran Waktu Terhadap Kualitas
Audit pada Kantor Akuntan Publik (KAP) di Kota Audit dengan Moderasi Pemahaman Terhadap Sistem
Semarang. Accounting Analysis Journal, 4(1), 1–11. Informasi. Ekonomi Dan Bisnis, VIII(1), 1–24.
Al-khaddash, H., Nawas, R. Al, & Ramadan, A. (2013). Fac- Primastuti, F. D., & Dhini, P. (2014). Pengaruh Time Budget
tors affecting the quality of Auditing : The Case of Pressure Terhadap Kualitas Audit Dengan Indepen-
Jordanian Commercial Banks. International Journal of densi Sebagai Variabel Intervening (Studi Kasus Pada
Business and Social Science, 4(11), 206–222. BPK RI Perwakilan Provinsi Daerah Istimewa Yogya-
Anggriawan, E. F. (2014). Pengaruh Pengalaman Kerja, karta). Accounting Analysis Journal, 3(4), 446–456.
Skeptisme Profesional Dan Tekanan Waktu Terhadap Riespika, S., & Supadmini, S. (2012). Pengaruh Penugasan
Kemampuan Auditor Dalam Mendeteksi Fraud (Studi Audit Shinta Riespika & Sri Supadmini,Dr. Ejournal.
Empiris Pada Kantor Akuntan Publik Di Diy). Jurnal stienusa, 19(2), 53–60.
Nominal, 3(2), 101–116. Setyarini, Y. (2004). Pengaruh partisipasi pemakai dan kom-
Badjuri, A. (2011). Faktor-Faktor Yang Berpengaruh Terha- pleksitas tugas terhadap kepuasan pemakai dalam
dap Kualitas Audit Auditor Independen Pada Kan- pengembangan sistem informasi berbasis komputer
tor Akuntan Publik (Kap) Di Jawa Tengah. Dinamika (survey terhadap rumah sakit di wilayah Surakarta).
Keuangan Dan Perbankan, 3(2), 183–197. Skripsi. Surakarta. Universitas Sebelas Maret.
Bowrin, A. R., & King, J. (2010). Time pressure, task complex- Singgih, E. M., & Bawono, I. R. (2009). Faktor-Faktor Dalam
ity, and audit effectiveness. Managerial Auditing Journal, Diri Auditor Dan Kualitas Audit. Audit, 14(2), 1–20.
25(2), 160–181. Sukriyah, I., Akram, & Inapty, B. A. (2009). Pengaruh Pen-
Carolita, M. K., & Rahardjo, S. N. (2012). Organisasi Terh- galaman Kerja, Independensi, Obyektifitas, Integritas
adap Kualitas Hasil Audit . Diponegoro Journal of Ac- dan Kompetensi Terhadap Kualitas Hasil Pemerik-
counting, 1(2), 1–11. saan Oleh: Simposium Nasional Akuntansi 12 Palembang,
De Angelo, L. E. (1981). Auditor Size And Audit Quality. 1–38.
Journal of Accounting and Economics, 3(5), 183–199. Tepalagul, N., & Lin, L. (2015). Auditor Independence and
Etikan, I. (2016). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Audit Quality. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance,
Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and 30(1), 101–121.
Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4. Usman. (2016). Effect Of Experience And Accountability On
Furiady, O., & Kurnia, R. (2015). The Effect of Work Expe- The Quality Of Internal Audit. International Journal of
riences, Competency, Motivation, Accountability and Scientific & Technology Research, 5(3), 85-90.
Objectivity towards Audit Quality. Procedia - Social and Widiarta. (2013). Pengaruh Gender, Umur Dan Kompleksitas
Behavioral Sciences, 211(2), 328–335. Tugas Auditor Pada Kualitas Audit Kantor Akuntan
Hanjani, A., & Rahardja. (2014). Pengaruh Etika Auditor, Publik Di Bali. E-Jurnal Akuntansi Universitas Udayana,
Pengalaman Auditor, FEE Audit, dan Motivasi Audit 3(1), 109–118.
Terhadap Kualitas Audit (Studi Pada Auditor KAP Wijaya, I. A., & Yulyona, M. T. (2017). Does Complex-
di Semarang). Diponegoro Journal of Accounting, 3(2), ity Audit Task , Time Deadline Pressure , Obedience
111–119. Pressure , and Information System Expertise Improve
Herawati, N. T., Hasbullah, & Sulindawati, N. L. G. E. (2014). Audit Quality ?. International Journal of Economics and
Pengaruh Keahlian Audit, Kompleksitas Tugas Dan Financial Issues, 7(3), 398–403.
Etika Profesi Terhadap Kualitas Audit( Studi Pada In- Yeghaneh, Y. H., Zangiabadi, M., & Firozabadi, S. M. D.
spektorat Pemerintah Kota Denpasar dan Inspektorat (2015). Factors Affecting Information Technology Au-
Pemerintah Kabupaten Gianyar ). E-Journal S1 Ak Uni- dit Quality. Journal of Investment and Management, 4(5),
versitas Pendidikan Ganesha, 2(1), 1–11. 196-203.
Khalidah, R. R., Purnamasari, P., & Kurniawan, H. (2015). Zu’amah, S. (2009). Independensi dan Kompetensi Auditor
Pengaruh Time Budget Pressure, Pengalaman Audi- pada Opini Audit Studi BPKP Jateng. Jurnal Dinamika
tor, Etika Auditor, dan KOmpleksitas Audit Terhadap Akuntansi, 1(2), 145–154.