Unpacking the Emergence of Unqualified Audit Opinions as Quasi‐Accountability in Indonesian Public Sector

ABSTRACT This study examines how public sector audit opinions, particularly unqualified audit opinions (UAOs), are produced and used within specific local governments in Indonesia. Employing a qualitative methodology, the study draws on documentary sources, including laws and regulations governing public sector auditing in Indonesia, supplemented by media reports and interviews with auditors and other relevant stakeholders across five local governments. Although UAOs for local governments have increased, this does not necessarily signify stronger substantive accountability. Rather, although they may reflect enhanced procedural compliance and financial reporting quality, their proliferation more accurately demonstrates how audit opinions are mobilized to support broader public claims about integrity and anti‐corruption. We also identify that government auditors emerge as strategic actors, navigating environmental expectations while managing their own institutional and personal risks. This study deepens understanding of the complex and dynamic contexts shaping auditors’ roles in an emerging economy such as Indonesia, where enduring nepotism, corruption, and patronage across government institutions constrain reform effectiveness and reproduce quasi‐accountable governance. This study contributes by theorizing quasi‐accountability as a systemic condition in which formally credible audit opinions can sustain the appearance of accountability despite unresolved control weaknesses and corruption risks.