AUDIT QUALITY AS MODERATOR AND PROFITABILITY AS MEDIATOR: A DUAL-PROCESS MODEL OF FINANCIAL DISTRESS DETERMINANTS IN INDONESIAN PROPERTY SECTOR

Abstract

This study examines the determinants of financial distress in Indonesian property and real estate companies, with audit quality as a moderating variable and profitability as a mediating variable. The study is motivated by the vulnerability of the property sector to macroeconomic shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic (2021–2022), high inflation (2023), and interest rate hikes (2024), which have collectively intensified financial pressure on firms. The sample consists of property and real estate companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2021–2024, selected using purposive sampling. Panel data regression and Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA) with the Random Effect Model (REM) were employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that leverage and earnings management significantly increase financial distress, while liquidity, sales growth, and tax avoidance show no significant direct effect. Furthermore, audit quality moderates the relationship between liquidity and financial distress, as well as tax avoidance and financial distress, but does not moderate the effects of leverage, sales growth, or earnings management. Profitability mediates only the relationship between earnings management and financial distress, suggesting that firms with higher profitability are better able to offset the negative impact of earnings manipulation on financial stability. These findings suggest that maintaining balanced leverage and transparent reporting practices are crucial to avoid financial distress, particularly in capital-intensive sectors such as property and real estate.