Ethics Moderating Remote Audit, Skepticism, IT Adoption, and Audit Quality

Abstract

Purpose - This study examines and analyzes the effect of remote audit, professional skepticism, and information technology adoption on audit quality, together with the role of auditor professional ethics as a moderating variable. Methods - The research uses a cross-sectional survey design with primary data drawn from 484 auditors working at 79 Public Accounting Firms across Indonesia, selected through purposive sampling, and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings - The results show that remote audit, professional skepticism, and information technology adoption each have a positive and significant effect on audit quality, and auditor professional ethics also directly and positively influences audit quality. However, auditor professional ethics does not strengthen the effect of remote audit, professional skepticism, or information technology adoption on audit quality. Research implications - The findings suggest that ethics may function as an independent governance resource rather than a simple boundary condition. Because the design is cross-sectional and perceptual, the results should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects. The exploratory seven-dimension audit-quality measure shows improved explanatory performance within the analyzed sample, but it requires formal validation through confirmatory factor analysis and cross-validation before being used for policy recommendations. Originality - This study proposes an exploratory seven-dimension audit-quality instrument adding IT Auditor Competence and Audit Methodology to the established five-dimension framework. This measurement extension is presented as an initial exploratory contribution requiring further validation, not as a definitively validated instrument.