THE INFLUENCE OF AUDIT STAFF QUALITY AND CLIENT TYPE ON AUDIT EVIDENCE COLLECTION WITH COMMUNICATION TYPE AS MODERATION

This study aims to examine the effect of audit staff quality (staff in-charge or auditors who carry
out audit tasks), and the client type on the audit evidence collection is moderated by the
communication type. The study population was auditors working in the Makassar Public
Accounting Firm. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling, while the data
collection was done by distributing questionnaires to all auditors who met the sample criteria.
The samples are thirty-three auditors from seven public accountant office in Makassar city. The
hypothesis test was conducted using Smart PLS 3. This study found that the audit staff quality,
client type, and communication type had a positive effect on the collection of audit evidence
directly. Furthermore, the moderation test results found that the communication type strengthens
the relationship between the client type and the collection of audit evidence. It means that while
gathering audit evidence, the higher the audit staff quality, the more evidence they can obtain.
The same result also found in the relationship between the client type and the audit evidence
collection. When the client type is friendly, the more audit evidence is gathered. Based on these
results, it is suggested that junior auditor must build their confidence in dealing with the clients.