Investigating the Impact of Moral Intelligence on Auditors' Professional Judgment

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of moral intelligence on the professional judgment of auditors. It also seeks to rate the impact of each of the 10 components of ethical intelligence on the judgment of auditors.
This study is applied in its purpose and analytical-inferential in its implementation approach. The statistical population for this study comprised auditors from the Supreme Audit Court of Iran (SAC) across three provinces: Isfahan, Yazd, and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. The sample size consisted of 115 individuals selected from these provinces. Two standard questionnaires of moral intelligence and professional judgment of auditors (Cronbach's alpha 0.954 and 0.936, respectively) were used to collect the required data. Out of 115 distributed questionnaires, 104 questionnaires were usable. Analysis of research data was performed to test research hypotheses using the Spearman test and to rank the effect of ethical intelligence components on the judgment of auditors using the Friedman test and SPSS software.
The study findings reveal that all 10 components of moral intelligence significantly influence the professional judgment of auditors. Notably, the components of commitment, acknowledgment of mistakes and failures, and the ability to forgive one's mistakes demonstrated the most substantial impact on auditors' professional judgment.
In conclusion, the impact of all 10 components of moral intelligence manifests in performance aligned with principles, values, and beliefs. This includes attributes such as honesty, perseverance, commitment to doing what is right, honoring promises, taking personal responsibility for decisions, acknowledging mistakes and failures, and embracing the duty to serve others. Actively interested in others, the ability to forgive one's own mistakes, and the ability to forgive the mistakes of others were proven by the professional judgment of auditors. The components of moral intelligence were ranked based on their impact on the professional judgment of auditors, revealing a distinct hierarchy. At the forefront, fulfillment of the promise emerged as the most influential component, boasting an impact rate of 6.87. Following closely behind, admitting mistakes and failures garnered significant importance with an impact rate of 6.85. The ability to forgive one's own mistakes also proved to be a crucial factor, with an impact rate of 6.68. Moreover, performance grounded in principles, values, and beliefs held considerable sway over auditor judgment, registering an impact rate of 6.10. Similarly, honesty was deemed influential, with an impact rate of 6.08. Actively demonstrating interest in others and assuming responsibility for personal decisions shared a joint impact rate of 5.78, highlighting their significance in shaping auditor judgment. Accepting responsibility to serve others followed closely behind, with an impact rate of 5.70. Conversely, perseverance and insistence on the right exhibited a comparatively lower impact, with a rate of 4.90. Lastly, the ability to forgive the mistakes of others concluded the ranking, with an impact rate of 4.86.