Ethics on the line: How obedience pressure shapes auditors’ decisions
This study examines the influence of professional skepticism and obedience pressure on auditors’ ethical formulation of audit opinions. Encompassing central and regional offices, 243 auditors from the Audit Board of Indonesia participated in this experimental study. In the scenario, a junior audit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan Republik Indonesia
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Jurnal Tata Kelola dan Akuntabilitas Keuangan Negara |
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| Online Access: | https://jurnal.bpk.go.id/TAKEN/article/view/1851 |
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| author | Eko Yulianto Retna Sari |
| author_facet | Eko Yulianto Retna Sari |
| author_sort | Eko Yulianto |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This study examines the influence of professional skepticism and obedience pressure on auditors’ ethical formulation of audit opinions. Encompassing central and regional offices, 243 auditors from the Audit Board of Indonesia participated in this experimental study. In the scenario, a junior audit manager discovered a misstatement in fixed asset accounts; obedience pressure was simulated by imposing career advancement threats if the auditor did not ignore the error. Binary logistic regression was employed to predict the likelihood of issuing an unqualified audit opinion under different conditions. Obedience pressure significantly reduced ethical decision-making, with auditors more likely to follow superior orders even when such orders compromised ethical standards. In contrast, professional skepticism, as a standalone factor, did not significantly influence ethical decisions. However, its interaction with obedience pressure exhibited a marginal effect, implying that greater skepticism may somewhat mitigate the adverse influence of obedience pressure. These findings highlight the complex interplay between organizational influence and individual traits in auditing practices, as well as the ethical risks faced by professional auditors. The study's novelty lies in its use of practicing auditors as participants, in contrast to earlier research involving students or non-practitioners, allowing for a more realistic assessment of how skepticism operates in actual audit settings.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eaf4b72d94b94f5ab93f44d79399d320 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2460-3937 2549-452X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan Republik Indonesia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Jurnal Tata Kelola dan Akuntabilitas Keuangan Negara |
| spelling | doaj-art-eaf4b72d94b94f5ab93f44d79399d3202025-08-20T03:32:18ZengBadan Pemeriksa Keuangan Republik IndonesiaJurnal Tata Kelola dan Akuntabilitas Keuangan Negara2460-39372549-452X2025-06-0111110.28986/jtaken.v11i1.1851Ethics on the line: How obedience pressure shapes auditors’ decisionsEko Yulianto0Retna Sari1The Audit Board of The Republic of Indonesia, JakartaFaculty of Economic and Business, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran”, Jakarta This study examines the influence of professional skepticism and obedience pressure on auditors’ ethical formulation of audit opinions. Encompassing central and regional offices, 243 auditors from the Audit Board of Indonesia participated in this experimental study. In the scenario, a junior audit manager discovered a misstatement in fixed asset accounts; obedience pressure was simulated by imposing career advancement threats if the auditor did not ignore the error. Binary logistic regression was employed to predict the likelihood of issuing an unqualified audit opinion under different conditions. Obedience pressure significantly reduced ethical decision-making, with auditors more likely to follow superior orders even when such orders compromised ethical standards. In contrast, professional skepticism, as a standalone factor, did not significantly influence ethical decisions. However, its interaction with obedience pressure exhibited a marginal effect, implying that greater skepticism may somewhat mitigate the adverse influence of obedience pressure. These findings highlight the complex interplay between organizational influence and individual traits in auditing practices, as well as the ethical risks faced by professional auditors. The study's novelty lies in its use of practicing auditors as participants, in contrast to earlier research involving students or non-practitioners, allowing for a more realistic assessment of how skepticism operates in actual audit settings. https://jurnal.bpk.go.id/TAKEN/article/view/1851obedience pressureprofessional skepticismauditor's ethical decisions |
| spellingShingle | Eko Yulianto Retna Sari Ethics on the line: How obedience pressure shapes auditors’ decisions Jurnal Tata Kelola dan Akuntabilitas Keuangan Negara obedience pressure professional skepticism auditor's ethical decisions |
| title | Ethics on the line: How obedience pressure shapes auditors’ decisions |
| title_full | Ethics on the line: How obedience pressure shapes auditors’ decisions |
| title_fullStr | Ethics on the line: How obedience pressure shapes auditors’ decisions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ethics on the line: How obedience pressure shapes auditors’ decisions |
| title_short | Ethics on the line: How obedience pressure shapes auditors’ decisions |
| title_sort | ethics on the line how obedience pressure shapes auditors decisions |
| topic | obedience pressure professional skepticism auditor's ethical decisions |
| url | https://jurnal.bpk.go.id/TAKEN/article/view/1851 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ekoyulianto ethicsonthelinehowobediencepressureshapesauditorsdecisions AT retnasari ethicsonthelinehowobediencepressureshapesauditorsdecisions |