PENGARUH PENGALAMAN, ETIKA, DAN INDEPENDENSI AUDITOR TERHADAP KUALITAS AUDIT PADA INSPEKTORAT DAERAH KABUPATEN PINRANG

Abstract

Internal audit plays an important role in achieving accountability and transparency in public financial management. As the Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus (APIP), the Regional Inspectorate functions to assess the effectiveness of internal control, regulatory compliance, and the quality of local government financial statements. This study is motivated by the persistence of control weaknesses and non-compliance that affect public-sector audit quality, as well as the inconsistent findings of prior research on the determinants of audit quality among government internal auditors. This study aims to analyze the influence of auditor experience, auditor ethics, and auditor independence on audit quality at the Regional Inspectorate of Pinrang Regency. A quantitative approach was employed using multiple linear regression analysis on 36 auditors selected through saturated sampling. The results show that auditor experience has a positive and significant effect on audit quality (coefficient 0.418; sig. 0.014), whereas auditor ethics (sig. 0.981) and auditor independence (sig. 0.523) have no significant partial effect. Simultaneously, however, the three variables significantly affect audit quality (F = 3.326; sig. 0.032) with a contribution of 23.8%. These findings confirm that auditor experience is the dominant factor in improving public-sector audit quality, while ethics and independence require institutional strengthening so as not to remain merely formal. This study contributes to understanding the determinants of audit quality in the under-researched context of regional APIP.