The Impact of Emotional Intelligence Orientation on Audit Sustainability: Empirical Evidence from Vietnam

The study investigates and measures the impact of the emotional intelligence orientation on audit sustainability in Vietnam. Survey data for this research were collected from 260 auditors (CPAs) currently working in auditing firms, for the period from April 2020 to July 2020. In this study, we have built a model with two dependent variables (Emotional intelligence orientation and Audit sustainability) and six independent variables (Proactive audit vision, Continuous audit development, Dynamic audit experience, Audit environmental change, Stakeholder expectation pressure, Advocacy culture). The research methods used include Cronbach’s Alpha test, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmation factor analysis (CFA) and linear structural model analysis (SEM). The results showed that (1) Proactive audit vision, (2) Continuous audit development, (3) Dynamic audit experience, (4) Audit environmental change, (5) Stakeholder expectation pressure are positively related to emotional intelligence orientation. However, Advocacy culture is not positively related to Emotional intelligence orientation. The findings of this study suggest that emotional intelligence orientation positively impacts audit sustainability (similar to the findings by Thapayom, Ussahawanitchakit, & Boonlua, 2017, 2018 in Thailand). The results of this study provide a scientific basis for managers at auditing firms to make appropriate decisions to improve auditing activities in the coming years. KCI Citation Count: 1