<![CDATA[Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of audit committee, audit tenure, and financial distress on tax avoidance with audit quality as a moderating variable. Method: This study uses quantitative research with secondary data in the form of company annual reports. The sample was obtained using purposive sampling technique, resulting in 31 companies with a total of 155 observations. The data used is panel data analyzed using panel regression analysis and moderated regression analysis (MRA). Finding: The results show that audit tenure has a significant negative effect on tax avoidance, while audit committee and financial distress have no significant effect on tax avoidance. Furthermore, audit quality is not proven to moderate the relationship between audit committee, audit tenure, and financial distress on tax avoidance. This indicates that in the banking sector, corporate tax behavior is shaped more by strict regulatory oversight, than by internal corporate governance mechanisms. In addition, audit quality that relies solely on Big Four audit firms is not sufficiet, companies need to strengthen the substantive competence and independence of both the audit committee and auditors competence and independence of both the audit committee and auditors to curb tax avoidance practice. Novelty: This study addresses a research gap by integrating audit committee, audit tenure, and financial distress with audit quality as a moderating variable within the banking sector, employing the most recent research period of 2020–2024. The mixed findings of prior studies regarding the direction and significance of each variable's influence highlight the need for a more comprehensive investigation.]]>
