Abstract
This study aims to analyze the effects of professionalism, independence, and work motivation on audit quality at the South Sulawesi Provincial Inspectorate, both simultaneously and partially, and to identify the most dominant factor influencing audit quality. The study employed a quantitative approach using a survey method. The research population consisted of all auditors at the South Sulawesi Provincial Inspectorate. A saturated sampling technique was applied, resulting in 53 respondents whose questionnaires were successfully collected and met the research criteria. Data were collected through questionnaires using a Likert scale and analyzed using multiple linear regression. The results indicate that professionalism, independence, and work motivation simultaneously have a positive and significant effect on audit quality. This finding is supported by an F-value of 25.053 with a significance level of 0.001 and an adjusted R-squared value of 0.581, indicating that the three variables explain 58.1% of the variation in audit quality. Partially, professionalism has a positive and significant effect on audit quality, as indicated by a t-value of 2.983 and a significance level of 0.004. Work motivation also has a positive and significant effect on audit quality, with a t-value of 2.910 and a significance level of 0.005. In contrast, independence does not have a significant effect on audit quality, as reflected by a t-value of 1.184 and a significance level of 0.242. Among the examined variables, professionalism has the strongest influence on audit quality, followed by work motivation and independence. These findings suggest that strengthening auditors’ professionalism and work motivation is essential for improving audit quality within the South Sulawesi Provincial Inspectorate.
