How do public sector auditors perceive the concept and practice of auditor Independence? Evidence from Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Independence is widely regarded as one of the key principles of effective auditing. This article explores the understanding of the nature of auditor independence at the level of practice in the public sector using the case study of Indonesia’s Supreme Audit Institution (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan-Republik Indonesia – BPK-RI). The research uses a case study methodology involving in-depth interviews with a stratified sample comprised of four groups of BPK-RI auditors. The results confirm that independence is perceived by all respondents as a fundamental auditor value. Independence was found to be a multifaceted concept which was perceived by respondents to have personal, professional and organisational aspects. However, depending on one’s location in the organisational hierarchy there are different emphases about the relative importance of the different aspects of auditor independence.

KEYWORDS:

• Auditor independence
• auditor perceptions of independence
• public sector auditing
• Indonesia government
• supreme audit institution
• bureaucratic reform
• BPK Indonesia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics

Ethics approval to undertake this research was granted by the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Advisory Panel A

Additional information

Funding

The authors have no funding to report.

Notes on contributors

Ahmad Rizki

Ahmad Rizki is an auditor in the Supreme Audit Institution of Indonesia (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan Republik Indonesia – BPK-RI) with over 8 years experience of auditing state finances. He holds a Master by Research degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Mark Turner

Mark Turner is Honorary Professor in the School of Business at the University of New South Wales - Canberra. He has over 40 years of experience of research and consultancy in the Asia-Pacific and has published extensively on public administration and politics in the region.