Auditors’ Intention to Engage in Sustainability Assurance: Evidence From Vietnam

This study examines factors associated with external auditors' intention to engage in sustainability assurance in Vietnam, where sustainability reporting is expanding while assurance practice remains uneven.The research model is informed by institutional theory, self-efficacy theory, and the attitude-intention relationship in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).Survey data from 317 external auditors working in independent audit firms were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).The results show that perceived regulatory and institutional pressure, perceived sustainability literacy, and sustainability assurance selfefficacy are positively associated with attitude toward sustainability assurance, whereas professional skepticism is not significantly associated with attitude.Perceived regulatory and institutional pressure, sustainability assurance self-efficacy, and attitude are positively associated with intention to engage.Mediation analysis shows significant indirect relationships through attitude for perceived regulatory and institutional pressure, perceived sustainability literacy, and sustainability assurance self-efficacy, but not for professional skepticism.The study extends sustainability assurance research by examining auditors' individual-level readiness and distinguishing how institutional signals, perceived sustainability literacy, task-specific self-efficacy, and attitude relate to readiness to engage in sustainability assurance.The findings highlight the professional capacity needed to support the development of credible sustainability reporting and assurance in an emerging economy.