Explaining the Relationships Between Moral Self-Efficacy, Moral Indifference, and Auditor Professionalism

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
mahsa miri 1
ehsan rahmaninia 1
malektaj malekioskouei 1
bahman banimahd 2
1 Department of Accounting, NT.C,Islamic Azad University,Tehran,Iran
2 Department of Accounting, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
10.22034/jmaak.2026.79146.4726
Abstract
Auditor professionalism is recognized as one of the key aspects in ensuring the quality of audit services and increasing its credibility in different societies. In a way, this concept refers to processes and behaviors that cause the credibility and high quality of auditor services. In the present study, the relationship between moral self-efficacy, moral indifference, and auditor professionalism was explained. The present study is an applied research in terms of its purpose and in terms of examining the relationships between variables among descriptive-survey research. The statistical population of the present study was auditors working in audit firms who are members of the Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Auditing Organization. Considering the number of members of the society, which was considered unlimited, 384 people were selected using the Krejci and Morgan table using the convenience sampling method to distribute the questionnaire. In the present study, a standard questionnaire was used to collect data, and its validity and reliability were measured. SPSS and PLS software were used for statistical tests. The results obtained from the research model test showed that the ethical self-efficacy of auditors working in audit firms has a negative and significant effect on their ethical indifference. The ethical indifference of auditors working in audit firms has a negative and significant effect on their professionalism. The ethical self-efficacy of auditors working in audit firms has a positive and significant effect on their professionalism. However, the mediating role of ethical indifference in the relationship between ethical self-efficacy and auditor professionalism was not confirmed.
Keywords
Auditor professionalism
ethical apathy
ethical self-efficacy
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