The Effect of Ethical Ideology on Auditors' Professional Judgment with the Mediating Role of Professional Commitment

Auditor's judgment is one of the most vital and effective issues in the auditing and decision making of financial information for users. Various studies have been conducted on the factors which obviously affect the auditor's professional judgment and professional commitment, that the most of them have examined the effects of auditors' personal characteristics on their ethical judgment. In this study, the impact of ethical ideology which includes relativistic and idealistic orientations on the professional judgment of the auditor with the mediating role of professional commitment has been examined. The essential data for this study has been collected through a comprehensive questionnaire. The sample under study includes 270 questionnaires which were completed by auditors. The results of this study pinpoint that ethical ideology does not affect the professional judgment of auditors but affects their professional commitment. Besides, professional commitment influences the auditor’s professional judgment.Keywords: Ethical ideology, professional judgment, professional commitment