Exploring Audit Quality Through Professional Care and Key Audit Matters: Insights from a Literature Review

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of professional due care and Key Audit Matters (KAMs) on audit quality, with auditor experience considered as a moderating factor. A systematic literature review of ten empirical studies conducted in Indonesia was used to synthesize key findings across private and public sector contexts. The results indicate that professional due care consistently emerges as the most critical determinant of audit quality, reflecting auditor diligence, professional skepticism, and responsibility. Auditor experience generally strengthens the relationship between professional due care, encompassing KAMs, and audit quality, although its moderating role shows mixed results depending on workload pressure, reward systems, and organizational culture. Independence, competence, and ethics are also relevant but yield varying empirical results, suggesting that audit quality is not solely determined by technical competence but is shaped by ethical and institutional contexts. This study emphasizes the importance for regulators, public accounting firms, and professional bodies. Regulators should strengthen the implementation of KAMs and reduce excessive time budget pressures. Public accounting firms need to improve professional training and align incentives with integrity, while professional associations need to integrate ethics more deeply into certification and development programs. Future research is recommended to examine the role of digital transformation and audit technology in strengthening audit quality.