Impact of carbon disclosure on debt financing costs

Creditors,such as banks,often use disclosed environmental information to assess a company’s environmental risk and ensure the safety of debt funds.Consequently,carbon disclosures have become an important consideration for creditors when making investments.This study explores the relationship between carbon disclosure and debt financing costs using data on listed companies from 2008 to 2019.The results show that carbon disclosure can reduce the debt financing costs of enterprises,and that this influence is more significant for private companies than for state-owned enterprises.Instrumental variables and Propensity Score Matching(PSM)were used to evaluate the robustness of negative relationships.Furthermore,carbon disclosure has a more significant impact on debt costs with less environmental supervision pressure,weak residents’environmental awareness,and weak product market competition.These findings provide guidance for companies’carbon information disclosure and support the establishment of official carbon disclosure standards.

Audit Quality, Timely Disclosure, and the Cost of Debt： Tunisian Evidence

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of auditor type and eamings reporting lag on the cost of debt for the Tunisian setting. Our sample consists of 32 Tunisian companies for the period of 2003-2012. Audit quality is measured by auditor size （Big 4 versus non-Big 4） and timely disclosure is proxied by earnings reporting lag. Results show that auditor type is negatively associated with the cost of debt. By contrast, the association between earnings announcement lag and the cost of debt is positive and significant. When testing for the moderating effects of industry and listing status, we document that these associations are more pronounced for industrial companies and listed firms. Finally, the period of investigation slightly moderates the examined associations, since financial institutions become more sensitive to the tardy communication of information and less concerned with auditor type following some economic and political troubles in Tunisia between 2010 and 2012. Our findings have policy implications for managers in the Tunisian setting and other developing economies similar to Tunisia given the crucial role played by debt as an important source of external finance for companies.

Analysis of the Effect of Corporate Governance Attributes and Disclosure Level on Firms＇ Costs of Financing

The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact of corporate governance and disclosure policy on corporate financial performance by examining the combined effect of board characteristics and disclosure level on financing costs. The empirical analysis, conducted on a sample of 192 Canadian companies, generally shows the importance of board characteristics in determining the level of disclosure and firms＇ costs of financing. In particular, the results found indicate that boards whose characteristics meet the governance requirements that are associated with greater transparency in disclosure on governance attributes reduce the costs of financing of their companies by debt as well as by equity capital.

Cyberattack Ramifications, The Hidden Cost of a Security Breach

In this in-depth exploration, I delve into the complex implications and costs of cybersecurity breaches. Venturing beyond just the immediate repercussions, the research unearths both the overt and concealed long-term consequences that businesses encounter. This study integrates findings from various research, including quantitative reports, drawing upon real-world incidents faced by both small and large enterprises. This investigation emphasizes the profound intangible costs, such as trade name devaluation and potential damage to brand reputation, which can persist long after the breach. By collating insights from industry experts and a myriad of research, the study provides a comprehensive perspective on the profound, multi-dimensional impacts of cybersecurity incidents. The overarching aim is to underscore the often-underestimated scope and depth of these breaches, emphasizing the entire timeline post-incident and the urgent need for fortified preventative and reactive measures in the digital domain.

Can material asset reorganizations affect acquirers' debt financing costs?——Evidence from the Chinese Merger and Acquisition Market

In this paper, we investigate whether material asset reorganizations(MARs), a special form of merger and acquisition(M&A) transactions, can affect the acquirers' cost of debt financing. Further, we examine the effect of acquiring firms' accounting information quality on the cost of debt and on the association between MARs and debt costs. We predict that compared to conventional M&As, large-scale acquisitions through MARs can generate a much greater influx of assets from target firms. This raises the acquirers' asset collateral and thus reduces the cost of debt. Because the quality of accounting information is a key factor affecting the cost of debt, we suggest that it has a spillover effect on the debt-cost effect of MARs. Using M&A transactions by listed companies in the Chinese A-share market from 2008 to 2014 as our sample, we find that MARs are associated with a higher asset collateral and lower ex post cost of debt than conventional M&As. Furthermore, we show that the acquiring firms' accounting information quality has a significant negative effect on debt costs, and the negative association between MARs and the cost of debt is more pronounced when accounting information quality is higher.

ESG performance and cost of debt

We analyze China Securities Index Co.,Ltd.(CSI)environmental,social and governance(ESG)scoring data,which incorporate Chinese characteristics,to assess the impact of ESG performance on corporate debt financing costs.Our findings indicate that better CSI ESG scores are correlated with lower debt financing costs.Additionally,improvements in local environmental execution enhance the effect of CSI ESG scores on debt financing costs.However,this effect diminishes with increased internal control quality and marketization.Governance has the greatest impact on reducing debt financing costs,followed by social and environmental factors.Superior CSI ESG scores reduce corporate debt financing costs by enhancing debt repayment capacity and reducing information asymmetry.Economic consequence analysis confirms that lower financing costs,driven by improved ESG performance,significantly enhance total factor productivity and firm value.CSI ESG scores also significantly impact bank loans but not corporate bond financing.

The Effect of Corporate Governance on Debt Financing Cost of Listed Companies

In recent years, bank credit business is booming with the increasing borrowing retention o~ China＇s listed companies, and debt financing has become the major approach among listed companies＇ financing strategies. As a series of institutional arrangements about rights, responsibilities and benefits between different shareholders, corporate governance mechanism has a significant influence on the cost of debt financing. This paper employs variable coefficient panel data model to investigate the relationship of the listed company＇s debt financing costs and corporate governance mechanism in terms of structural characteristics and time series characteristics. The results show that optimizing the structure of both Board of Directors and Board of Supervisors, establishing a reasonable management incentive system and reducing the concentration of ownership properly can directly contribute to a lower company＇s debt financing costs. Meanwhile, property rights have an interactive influence on corporate governance from four aspects, which indirectly effect in company＇s debt financing costs.