Auditors’ professionalism and factors affecting it: insights from Indonesia

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effects of intellectual intelligence, emotional intelligence, internal locus of control, and auditors’ experience (intrinsic characteristics) and organizational culture (an extrinsic characteristic) on auditors’ professionalism. Design/methodology/approach: Data are collected from auditors working in public accounting firms in the Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces of Indonesia between March 1 and June 30, 2017, using survey questionnaires with a Likert scale (one-five). The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression method is used to analyze the data. Findings: Findings from OLS regression reveal that emotional intelligence, internal locus of control and auditors’ experience positively influence auditors’ professionalism. However, intellectual intelligence and organizational culture do not show any effect on their professionalism. Originality/value: Even though there are some limitations, such as how to measure intellectual intelligence, and the relatively small size of the sample, this study makes a significant contribution because it is the first study to measure the joint effect of both intellectual and emotional intelligence and the first to examine the influence on auditors’ professionalism of both individual and organizational characteristics.