Secrecy Culture and Audit Opinion: Some International Evidence |
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| Authors: | Theodore T Y Chen Feida Zhang Gaoguang Zhou |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Accounting, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong, China;2. Department of Accounting, Murdoch University, Australia;3. Department of Accountancy and Law, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China |
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| Abstract: | We examine whether and how auditors respond to audit risks arising from secrecy culture when making audit opinion decisions. Using a sample of international Big N auditors from 33 countries, we find strong and robust evidence that auditors are more likely to issue modified audit opinions to clients domiciled in countries with a strong secrecy culture. In addition, we find that the association between secrecy culture and auditors' propensity to issue modified audit opinions is less pronounced in countries with strong investor protection than that in countries with weak investor protection. |
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