The Influence of Government Spending and Audit Opinion on the Human Development Index in Sulawesi Province

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the influence of government spending and audit opinion on the Human Development Index (HDI) in the provinces of North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, and West Sulawesi. The research uses a quantitative approach with secondary data sourced from the Central Statistics Agency and the Financial Audit Agency until 2023. The analysis method used was multiple linear regression with the help of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The results of the analysis show that government spending has a positive effect on HDI, which indicates that increasing budget allocation in the public sector is able to encourage an improvement in the quality of human development. In addition, the audit opinion has also been shown to have a positive effect on HDI, which reflects that accountable and transparent regional financial management contributes to the effectiveness of the implementation of development programs. Simultaneously, government spending and audit opinion have an important role in increasing HDI. These findings show that the success of human development is not only determined by the amount of government spending, but also by the quality of regional financial governance. This research is expected to be a consideration for local governments in formulating development policies that are oriented towards improving community welfare.