Prof. CHEN Tien Yiu, TheodoreTheodoreProf. CHEN Tien YiuZhang, Feida FrankFeida FrankZhangZhou, Gaoguang StephenGaoguang StephenZhou2017-09-282017-09-282017Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting, Oct. 2017, vol. 28(3), pp. 274-307.0954-1314http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/4483We 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.enPeer Reviewed Journal Article10.1111/jifm.12057