The purpose of this study is to investigate whether firms' auditor choice relates to national culture. We construct a novel measure of secretiveness based on Hofstede's (1980) cultural factors. Using a very large sample of firms from 37 countries and controlling for a number of firm- and...

Research in information economics seeks to understand how the actions of one individual affect the decisions of related individuals. We examine this issue in the context of information contagion between audit offices in the same locality. Specifically, we investigate whether contagion among Big...

As shown in the international business literature, the ability of controlling owners to extract private benefits is greater in countries with weaker legal institutions. In these countries, providing credible financial information could play an especially important role in reducing information...

Foreign operations are becoming increasingly important for U.S. companies. We investigate whether the market's valuation of foreign earnings is a function of the firm's geographic segment disclosures. Specifically, we examine the effects of an increase in the number of geographic segments...

Foreign operations are becoming increasingly important for U.S. companies. We investigate whether the market's valuation of foreign earnings is a function of the firm's geographic segment disclosures. Specifically, we examine the effects of an increase in the number of geographic segments...