AUDITOR’S INTERPRETATION OF AUDIT RESULTS: AN ETHNOMETHODOLOGICAL STUDY AT THE POSO REGENCY INSPECTORATE

Abstract

This study examines how auditors interpret audit results within government oversight practices at the Poso Regency Inspectorate. Previous research has mainly addressed audit findings in terms of their administrative, corrective, and governance functions, with less attention to how auditors construct their meaning through everyday practices. An ethnomethodological perspective is therefore used to examine this interpretive process in its social context. The study adopts Garfinkel’s ethnomethodology, drawing on indexicality, reflexivity, and accountability, with Attribution Theory as a supporting perspective. Data were collected in July 2025 through semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentation involving four purposively selected auditors. Data credibility was established through source and technique triangulation. The findings show that auditors interpret audit results not merely as administrative documents but as fact-based, targeted, and accountable outputs that generate measurable and actionable recommendations. These results support oversight, evaluation, guidance, and governance improvement through practices such as refining SOPs, reorganizing honorarium decree administration, evaluating SPMs, and assisting PBJ activities. The study contributes an interpretive understanding of audit results by showing that their meaning is produced through auditors’ everyday interactions and practices rather than being inherent in audit documents.