The Effect of Auditors’ Self-Control on Audit Quality with the Moderating Role of Professional Ethics
Subject Areas : Ethics in auditingSahar Ranjbar 1 , Alireza Farimani 2 *
1 - Department of Accounting, Ya.C., Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran
2 - Department of Accounting, Ya.C., Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran
Keywords: Audit quality, Auditors, Self-control, Professional ethics, Personality traits, Behavioral expectation.,
Abstract :
Introduction: Audit quality is one of the fundamental pillars of the financial reporting system and a crucial element in maintaining public confidence in financial information. High-quality audits enhance the credibility and transparency of financial statements and ensure that stakeholders can make informed decisions based on reliable data. The effectiveness of an audit is not only a matter of technical competence but is also influenced by the psychological and ethical characteristics of auditors. Among these individual attributes, self-control plays a critical role. Self-control refers to an individual’s capacity to regulate emotions, impulses, and behaviors in alignment with long-term goals rather than yielding to short-term temptations. In the auditing context, where professionals face time pressure, conflicting interests, and persuasion attempts from management, strong self-control enables auditors to preserve independence and objectivity, resist unethical influences, and maintain professional standards. Another essential dimension of audit quality is professional ethics. Ethics in auditing represent a set of moral principles that guide professional conduct beyond legal obligations, emphasizing honesty, fairness, integrity, and accountability. A strong ethical framework not only ensures compliance with auditing standards but also fosters public trust in the auditing profession. While numerous studies have explored self-control or professional ethics individually, there is a scarcity of research examining how these two constructs interact to affect audit quality. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effect of auditors’ self-control on audit quality while considering the moderating role of professional ethics. This study provides new insights into how personal and ethical factors interact in shaping auditors’ professional performance and offers practical implications for audit institutions seeking to improve audit effectiveness and reliability.
Methods:This study is applied in nature and field-based in methodology, employing a descriptive-survey design for data collection. The statistical population consisted of all auditors working in Yazd, Iran. The sample size was determined using Cochran’s formula, and a total of 250 questionnaires were distributed among members of the Iranian Association of Certified Public Accountants. Of these, 169 valid responses were received and analyzed. Data were collected using three standardized and localized questionnaires. Auditors’ self-control was measured using the Tangney (2004) Self-Control Scale, which includes 13 items rated on a five-point Likert scale. Audit quality was assessed through the Bell et al. (2015) questionnaire containing 16 items, and professional ethics was measured using the 16-item instrument developed by Ghasemzadeh (2013). The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with SMART PLS 3 software. To ensure measurement validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed, and all factor loadings were above 0.6. Cronbach’s alpha, rho_A, and composite reliability coefficients exceeded the acceptable threshold of 0.7, confirming internal consistency. The Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values for all constructs were greater than 0.5, demonstrating convergent validity. Model fit indices also indicated acceptable fitness (SRMR = 0.053, NFI = 0.872), confirming that the structural model adequately represented the relationships among the variables.
Findings:The empirical findings revealed that auditors’ self-control has a positive and statistically significant effect on audit quality (β = 0.410, p<0.001). This suggests that auditors with higher levels of self-control demonstrate greater discipline, independence, and attention to detail, leading to more reliable and objective audit outcomes. Self-control helps auditors resist external pressures from clients or organizational demands that might compromise audit integrity. Furthermore, professional ethics also exhibited a significant positive effect on audit quality (β=0.379, p<0.001). This highlights the role of ethical principles such as integrity, honesty, and professional responsibility in ensuring accurate and trustworthy audit reports. However, the moderating analysis showed that the interaction between self-control and professional ethics had a negative and significant effect on audit quality (β=–0.239, p<0.001). This means that when professional ethics are strongly enforced within the auditing environment, the positive effect of self-control on audit quality tends to weaken. In highly ethical contexts, auditors may rely more on formal rules, professional codes, and institutional controls rather than on their personal traits. This finding implies that professional ethics can act as a boundary condition that limits the influence of personal attributes such as self-control on performance outcomes. This nuanced relationship aligns partially with prior research suggesting that self-control enhances audit performance through disciplined judgment and emotional regulation. Studies by Hurley
et al. (2019) and Lian et al. (2017) also demonstrated that self-regulation is associated with greater professional independence and accuracy in audit decisions. Nonetheless, the negative moderating effect found in this study contrasts with findings by Djaddang and Lysandra (2022), who reported a fully positive moderation of ethics in internal auditing. The discrepancy may stem from differences in professional context, cultural expectations, or the strictness of ethical enforcement. In settings where ethical norms are highly institutionalized, personal discretion may be less influential because decision-making becomes governed primarily by regulatory and organizational frameworks. The model evaluation also indicated that the independent and moderating variables jointly explained 77% of the variance in audit quality (R² = 0.771), suggesting a high level of explanatory power. Effect size results further showed that self-control had a strong direct impact, while professional ethics and the interaction term had moderate effects, confirming the importance of both psychological and ethical dimensions in determining audit performance.
Conclusion: This study concludes that auditors’ self-control is a critical psychological factor that positively contributes to audit quality by promoting independence, discipline, and careful decision-making. Nevertheless, the positive effect of self-control weakens when professional ethics are strongly emphasized, indicating that rigid ethical standards may reduce the need for individual discretion. In such highly regulated environments, auditors tend to rely more on external ethical frameworks than
on personal self-regulation. The findings emphasize the importance of balance in professional development. Ethics training should not merely focus on compliance but also encourage auditors to exercise adaptive judgment within ethical boundaries. Likewise, fostering self-control through professional education can enhance auditors’ resilience against stress and unethical pressures. Organizations should create a supportive culture that values both moral integrity and professional autonomy, enabling auditors to maintain independence while adhering to ethical codes. Future research may explore additional mediating or moderating factors such as job stress, decision fatigue, and organizational culture to better understand how psychological and contextual variables jointly influence audit quality. Moreover, examining different dimensions of self-control—such as cognitive, behavioral, and emotional aspects—could reveal which type most strongly affects professional performance. Overall, this research contributes to the growing body of literature linking individual psychology with ethical governance in auditing. By integrating personal and moral determinants, it underscores the complex yet crucial balance between ethical regulation and human discretion in sustaining high audit quality.
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