The Role of Auditors' Code of Professional Conduct as a Moderating Variable on Auditor Performance

Research on auditor performance is a compelling topic because various internal factors, namely auditor accountability, competency, and independence, may affect auditor performance. Previous research concluded that the results of the factors affecting auditor performance were found to be inconclusive (mixed results). This motivated this study to re-examine further using contingency variables, i.e., the code of professional conduct as the moderating variable. This study examines the role of auditors' code of professional conduct to strengthen the relationship between internal/external factors and auditor performance. This study uses attribution theory to develop and test the hypotheses. This study used a survey method, an electronic questionnaire. The respondents in this study were public sector auditors in Indonesia, with 101 respondents. The data analysis used was a moderated regression analysis technique. This study examined the validity and reliability of the data to ensure that the instruments were valid and reliable. It is hypothesized that an auditor's code of professional conduct strengthens the relationship between internal factors and auditor performance. The result showed that the auditors' code of professional conduct served as a quasi-moderator that strengthened the relationship between the auditor's accountability on performance, while for the relationship between the auditor's competency and independence on performance, the auditors' code of professional conduct served as a pure moderator. The limitations of this study are related to the timeframe of data collection due to the high level of tasks of public sector auditors. This study contributes to behavioral management accounting research on auditors' performance.