摘要：The quality of auditing is determined by both competency and independency. The results of the previous researches on this problem reveal that profession as accountants has begun not attractive anymore for most people, and has begun altered by other professions. This phenomenon can influence the quality of students who want to apply for studying in accounting field, eventually it will lower the competence of their graduates. Moreover, the research show that the curriculum of teaching in accounting department nowadays seems cannot support appropriately the competence of the graduates. The research also empirically proves that experiences will affect the capability of auditors to find out all errors in their clients' financial statement, and trainings which are conducted both inside and outside their work places will enhance their expertise in dealing with auditing. For those reasons, information based on experiences from public accountant firms and professional accountant organizations are really needed to develop a set of curriculum for formal accounting education and trainings. The results of research on the independency show that in making the decision, public accountants sometimes are influenced by the aim on how they can keep up their clients as long as possible. However there are other factors which can alleviate the influence. Moreover, other research gives some evidences that separating auditing staff that carries out consulting services can increase their independence. The impact of social and corporate culture on an auditor will influence his or her independence. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Kualitas audit ditentukan oleh dua hal yaitu kompetensi dan independensi. Hasil penelitian tentang kompetensi menunjukkan bahwa profesi akuntansi mulai tidak menarik dan tergeser oleh profesi yang lain. Hal ini berdampak terhadap kualitas calon mahasiswa yang memasuki pendidikan formal akuntansi, yang pada akhirnya akan membuat rendah kompetensi lulusan pendidikan formal akuntansi. Hasil penelitian juga menunjukkan bahwa kurikulum pendidikan formal akuntansi dirasa masih kurang memadai untuk menunjang kompetensi lulusan program studi akuntansi. Penelitian juga memberikan bukti empiris bahwa pengalaman akan mempengaruhi kemampuan auditor untuk mengetahui kekeliruan dan pelatihan yang dilakukan akan meningkatkan keahlian dalam melakukan audit. Untuk itu maka masukan dari Kantor Akuntan Publik dan organisasi profesi sangat diperlukan untuk mengembangkan suatu kurikulum pendidikan formal akuntansi dan pelatihan akuntansi. Hasil penelitian tentang independensi menunjukkan bahwa dalam mengambil keputusan akuntan publik dipengaruhi oleh dorongan untuk mempertahankan klien auditnya. Tetapi disisi lain terdapat beberapa kekuatan yang bisa meredakan pengaruh tersebut. Hasil penelitian juga memberikan bukti bahwa pemisahan staf audit dari staf yang melakukan consulting service dirasakan oleh pemakai laporan akan meningkatkan independensi akuntan publik. Pengaruh Budaya masyarakat atau organisasi terhadap pribadi akuntan publik akan mempengaruhi sikap independensinya. Kata kunci: akuntan publik, kualitas audit, kompetensi, independensi.
关键词：public accountant; quality of the audit; competence (expertise); independence.
