ENHANCING AUDIT QUALITY: THE ROLE OF AUDITOR COMPETENCE, AUDIT PLANNING, AND RISK-BASED AUDITING

This study aimed to examine the effect of auditor competence and audit planning on audit quality, with risk-based auditing as a moderating variable, at the Regional Inspectorate of Bandung City. A quantitative approach was employed using primary data collected through questionnaires, with auditors at the Regional Inspectorate of Bandung City as the unit of analysis. The population comprised sixty-three auditors, while fifty-seven auditors were selected as the research sample using a purposive sampling technique. Auditor competence and audit planning were treated as independent variables, audit quality as the dependent variable, and risk-based auditing as the moderating variable. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Moderated Regression Analysis with the assistance of SPSS version 30. The results indicated that auditor competence had a positive and significant effect on audit quality, suggesting that auditors with higher levels of knowledge, skills, experience, and professional capability were more likely to produce reliable and high-quality audit outcomes. In contrast, audit planning did not have a significant effect on audit quality. Furthermore, risk-based auditing was unable to moderate the relationship between auditor competence and audit quality, as well as the relationship between audit planning and audit quality. These findings suggested that audit quality was more strongly influenced by the effectiveness of audit implementation, auditors' ability to respond to field conditions, and the adequacy of audit evidence obtained during the audit process. These findings implied that strengthening auditor competence and enhancing the effectiveness of audit execution should be prioritized in efforts to improve audit quality within government internal oversight institutions.