The Influence of Fair Presentation and Audit Judgment on Audit Opinion Issuance by Public Accountants in Indonesia

ABSTRACT : This study aims to analyze the influence of fair presentation and audit judgment on the issuance of audit opinions in Public Accounting Firms (KAP) in Indonesia, with auditor experience as a moderating variable. The study uses a quantitative, causal design. Data were collected through questionnaires distributed to auditors at registered and licensed KAPs in Indonesia, using a purposive sampling technique. Data analysis was performed using Moderating Regression Analysis (MRA) in IBM SPSS Statistics version 27. The results show that fair presentation has a significant effect on the issuance of audit opinions, indicating that the presentation of fair, complete, accurate, and bias-free financial statements is a significant factor in forming auditor confidence in the fairness of financial statements. Conversely, audit judgment does not have a significant effect on the issuance of audit opinions, suggesting that the auditor's professional judgment in this study is not the main determining factor in the opinion. This finding indicates that the issuance of audit opinions is more strongly influenced by compliance with audit standards, the sufficiency of audit evidence, and the quality of financial statement presentation than by the auditor's subjectivity. This research provides theoretical contributions to the development of auditing literature, particularly regarding the role of fair presentation and the limited influence of audit judgment in the audit opinion-giving process, as well as practical implications for KAP in improving audit quality and the credibility of auditor opinions.