Using data from the Chinese market where related party transactions (RPTs) are particularly prevalent, we examine how the independent auditor responds to the potentially heightened risk of RPTs and the efficacy of the auditor's response. First, we find that the auditor is more likely to issue a...

Recent research challenges the notion that the Big 4 auditors provide a higher quality audit relative to non-Big 4 and suggests that the Big N effect could be due to self-selection. We contribute to this debate by controlling for pre-audit earnings quality, an important omitted variable in prior...