Interpretive Structural Modeling of Auditor Competencies

Heydar  Yousef Khalkhal; Maryam  Nouraei; Mehrdad  Ghanbari; Forouzan  Mohammadi

Authors

Heydar Yousef Khalkhal Department of Accounting, Ker.C., Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6351-5989
Maryam Nouraei Department of Accounting, Ker.C., Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8484-1434
Mehrdad Ghanbari Department of Accounting, Ker.C., Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5403-0094
Forouzan Mohammadi Department of Accounting, Ker.C., Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1181-3440

Keywords:

Auditor Competency, Interpretive Structural Modeling, Professional Judgment, Professional Skepticism, Digital Competence, Audit Quality, MICMAC Analysis

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to identify the principal dimensions of auditor competency and develop an interpretive structural model clarifying the hierarchical and directional relationships among these competencies. This applied study employed a qualitative–structural design based on Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). The study population consisted of professional auditors in Iraq with at least five years of auditing experience and university professors in Iran and Iraq with at least eight years of teaching experience in accounting, auditing, financial management, or related fields. Using non-probability snowball sampling, 18 experts were selected, including 10 professional auditors and eight university professors. Following expert review and refinement, 12 auditor competency components were retained. Pairwise relationships among the components were assessed using a researcher-developed ISM questionnaire and encoded through the conventional V, A, X, and O symbols. The Structural Self-Interaction Matrix was converted into an initial and then final reachability matrix by applying transitivity rules. Level partitioning was subsequently performed, and driving and dependence powers were calculated using MICMAC analysis. The ISM analysis produced a seven-level hierarchical model. Continuous learning and professional development and adaptability and environmental awareness were positioned at Level VII and showed the highest driving power, with scores of 12 and dependence scores of 2. Professional ethics and integrity and independence and accountability were placed at Level VI, each with a driving power of 8. Professional and technical knowledge and information technology and digital competence occupied Level V, followed by communication competence and teamwork and interpersonal competence at Level IV. Analytical and critical thinking and professional skepticism were positioned at Level III, while risk assessment and fraud detection competence occupied Level II. Decision-making and professional judgment was located at Level I and demonstrated the highest dependence power of 12 and the lowest driving power of 1. MICMAC analysis classified six competencies as independent drivers and six as dependent competencies, with no autonomous components identified. Auditor competency is a hierarchical and interconnected system in which continuous learning, adaptability, ethics, independence, technical knowledge, and digital competence function as foundational drivers, while risk assessment and professional judgment emerge as higher-order outcomes dependent on the development of lower-level competencies.

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