IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/fbbsrw/v15y2026i1p101-111.html

Reducing Cost of Capital. Do Voluntary Disclosure and Accounting Conservatism Contribute?

Author

Listed:
  • Muiz Abu Alia
  • Alaa Khaled AbuSarees

Abstract

Theoretically, accounting conservatism and voluntary disclosure may be used as means to reduce cost of equity. Supportive evidence has been provided by the majority of studies, especially in developed countries. We address this issue by focusing on an underdeveloped country with political instability. The impact of accounting conservatism and voluntary disclosure on cost of capital is estimated using the data belongs to all companies listed on the Palestine Exchange during the period from 2015 to 2019. The results confirm the negative influence of voluntary disclosure and accounting conservatism on cost of capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Muiz Abu Alia & Alaa Khaled AbuSarees, 2026. "Reducing Cost of Capital. Do Voluntary Disclosure and Accounting Conservatism Contribute?," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 15(1), pages 101-111, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:fbbsrw:v:15:y:2026:i:1:p:101-111
    DOI: 10.1177/23197145221145753
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23197145221145753
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/23197145221145753?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicholas Apergis & George Artikis & Sofia Eleftheriou & John Sorros, 2012. "Accounting information and excess stock returns: the role of the cost of capital -- new evidence from US firm-level data," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 321-329, February.
    2. Rogers, Jonathan L. & Skinner, Douglas J. & Van Buskirk, Andrew, 2009. "Earnings guidance and market uncertainty," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 90-109, October.
    3. Muiz Abu Alia & Islam Abdeljawad & Sara Emad Jallad & Mamunur Rashid, 2022. "Voluntary disclosure-cost of equity nexus and the moderating role of corporate governance: evidence from an extremely politically unstable context," International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(6), pages 1035-1052, February.
    4. Ayman E. Haddad & Wasim K. AlShattarat & Haitham Nobanee, 2009. "Voluntary disclosure and stock market liquidity: evidence from the Jordanian capital market," International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(3), pages 285-309.
    5. Muiz Abu Alia & Islam Abdeljawad & Sara Emad Jallad & Mamunur Rashid, 2022. "Voluntary disclosure-cost of equity nexus and the moderating role of corporate governance: evidence from an extremely politically unstable context," International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(6), pages 1035-1052, February.
    6. Nemit Shroff & Amy X. Sun & Hal D. White & Weining Zhang, 2013. "Voluntary Disclosure and Information Asymmetry: Evidence from the 2005 Securities Offering Reform," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 51(5), pages 1299-1345, December.
    7. Maha Khalifa & Hakim Ben Othman, 2015. "The effect of conservatism on cost of capital: MENA evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 71-87, January.
    8. Armitage, Seth & Marston, Claire, 2008. "Corporate disclosure, cost of capital and reputation: Evidence from finance directors," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 314-336.
    9. Luzi Hail, 2002. "The impact of voluntary corporate disclosures on the ex-ante cost of capital for Swiss firms," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(4), pages 741-773.
    10. Richard Lambert & Christian Leuz & Robert E. Verrecchia, 2007. "Accounting Information, Disclosure, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(2), pages 385-420, May.
    11. Basu, Sudipta, 1997. "The conservatism principle and the asymmetric timeliness of earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 3-37, December.
    12. Muiz Abu Alia & Islam Abdeljawad & Mohammad Yaaqbeh, 2020. "Depressing earnings management in Palestinian corporations: the role of audit quality, audit committee, and accounting conservatism," International Journal of Revenue Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(3), pages 213-236.
    13. Sanjeev Bhojraj & Partha Sengupta, 2003. "Effect of Corporate Governance on Bond Ratings and Yields: The Role of Institutional Investors and Outside Directors," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(3), pages 455-476, July.
    14. M. Gietzmann & J. Ireland, 2005. "Cost of Capital, Strategic Disclosures and Accounting Choice," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3‐4), pages 599-634, April.
    15. Hassan, Omaima A.G. & Romilly, Peter & Giorgioni, Gianluigi & Power, David, 2009. "The value relevance of disclosure: Evidence from the emerging capital market of Egypt," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 79-102, March.
    16. Collins, Daniel W. & Kothari, S. P. & Shanken, Jay & Sloan, Richard G., 1994. "Lack of timeliness and noise as explanations for the low contemporaneuos return-earnings association," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 289-324, November.
    17. Inder K. Khurana & K. K. Raman, 2003. "Are Fundamentals Priced in the Bond Market?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(3), pages 465-494, September.
    18. Diamond, Douglas W, 1985. "Optimal Release of Information by Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1071-1094, September.
    19. Xi Li, 2015. "Accounting Conservatism and the Cost of Capital: An International Analysis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5-6), pages 555-582, June.
    20. Frank Gigler & Chandra Kanodia & Haresh Sapra & Raghu Venugopalan, 2009. "Accounting Conservatism and the Efficiency of Debt Contracts," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 47(3), pages 767-797, June.
    21. Givoly, Dan & Hayn, Carla, 2000. "The changing time-series properties of earnings, cash flows and accruals: Has financial reporting become more conservative?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 287-320, June.
    22. Qi Chen & Thomas Hemmer & Yun Zhang, 2007. "On the Relation between Conservatism in Accounting Standards and Incentives for Earnings Management," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(3), pages 541-565, June.
    23. Verrecchia, Robert E., 2001. "Essays on disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 97-180, December.
    24. M. Gietzmann & J. Ireland, 2005. "Cost of Capital, Strategic Disclosures and Accounting Choice," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3-4), pages 599-634.
    25. Yuxiang Zhong & Wanli Li, 2017. "Accounting Conservatism: A Literature Review," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 27(2), pages 195-213, June.
    26. Jeroen Suijs, 2008. "On the Value Relevance of Asymmetric Financial Reporting Policies," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(5), pages 1297-1321, December.
    27. Jorgensen, Bjorn & Li, Jing & Sadka, Gil, 2012. "Earnings dispersion and aggregate stock returns," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 1-20.
    28. repec:eme:ijlma0:ijlma-10-2015-0052 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Stergios Leventis & Pauline Weetman, 2004. "Impression management: dual language reporting and voluntary disclosure," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 307-328, September.
    30. Mark Bagnoli & Susan G. Watts, 2005. "Conservative Accounting Choices," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(5), pages 786-801, May.
    31. Francis, Bill & Hasan, Iftekhar & Wu, Qiang, 2013. "The benefits of conservative accounting to shareholders: Evidence from the financial crisis," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 8/2013, Bank of Finland.
    32. Guay, Wayne & Verrecchia, Robert, 2006. "Discussion of an economic framework for conservative accounting and Bushman and Piotroski (2006)," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 149-165, October.
    33. Art Durnev & E. Han Kim, 2005. "To Steal or Not to Steal: Firm Attributes, Legal Environment, and Valuation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(3), pages 1461-1493, June.
    34. Banz, Rolf W., 1981. "The relationship between return and market value of common stocks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 3-18, March.
    35. Hamdi Ben‐Nasr & Narjess Boubakri & Jean‐Claude Cosset, 2012. "The Political Determinants of the Cost of Equity: Evidence from Newly Privatized Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 50(3), pages 605-646, June.
    36. Juan Manuel García Lara & Beatriz García Osma & Fernando Penalva, 2011. "Conditional conservatism and cost of capital," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 247-271, June.
    37. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 2001. "Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 405-440, September.
    38. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R. & Lundblad, Christian, 2005. "Does financial liberalization spur growth?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 3-55, July.
    39. Edwige Cheynel, 2013. "A theory of voluntary disclosure and cost of capital," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 987-1020, December.
    40. Francis, Bill & Hasan, Iftekhar & Wu, Qiang, 2013. "The benefits of conservative accounting to shareholders : Evidence from the financial crisis," Research Discussion Papers 8/2013, Bank of Finland.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Naveed Razzaq, Zhang Rui, 2018. "Does Conditional Conservatism affect the Cost of Capital? Evidence from China," Journal of Finance and Economics Research, Geist Science, Iqra University, Faculty of Business Administration, vol. 3(1), pages 57-70, March.
    2. Khalifa, Maha & Zouaoui, Haykel & Ben Othman, Hakim & Hussainey, Khaled, 2019. "Exploring the nonlinear effect of conditional conservatism on the cost of equity capital: Evidence from emerging markets," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Beyer, Anne & Cohen, Daniel A. & Lys, Thomas Z. & Walther, Beverly R., 2010. "The financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 296-343, December.
    4. Christian Leuz & Peter D. Wysocki, 2016. "The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 54(2), pages 525-622, May.
    5. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Guay, Wayne R. & Weber, Joseph P., 2010. "The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 179-234, December.
    6. Judson Caskey & Volker Laux, 2017. "Corporate Governance, Accounting Conservatism, and Manipulation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(2), pages 424-437, February.
    7. Luc Paugam & Olivier Ramond, 2015. "Effect of Impairment-Testing Disclosures on the Cost of Equity Capital," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5-6), pages 583-618, June.
    8. Khalifa, Maha & Othman, Hakim Ben & Hussainey, Khaled, 2018. "The effect of ex ante and ex post conservatism on the cost of equity capital: A quantile regression approach for MENA countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 239-255.
    9. Xi Li, 2015. "Accounting Conservatism and the Cost of Capital: An International Analysis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5-6), pages 555-582, June.
    10. Tracy C Artiach & Peter M Clarkson, 2014. "Conservatism, disclosure and the cost of equity capital," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 39(2), pages 293-314, May.
    11. Akram Khalilov & Beatriz Garcia Osma, 2020. "Accounting conservatism and the profitability of corporate insiders," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3-4), pages 333-364, March.
    12. Schreder, Max, 2018. "Idiosyncratic information and the cost of equity capital: A meta-analytic review of the literature," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 142-172.
    13. Carlo D'Augusta & Sasson Bar-Yosef & Annalisa Prencipe, 2016. "The Effects of Conservative Reporting on Investor Disagreement," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 451-485, September.
    14. Jeroen Suijs, 2008. "On the Value Relevance of Asymmetric Financial Reporting Policies," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(5), pages 1297-1321, December.
    15. Loukil, Nadia & Yousfi, Ouidad, 2010. "Firm's information environment and stock liquidity: evidence from Tunisian context," MPRA Paper 28699, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Feb 2011.
    16. Van Geyt, Debby & Van Cauwenberge, Philippe & Vander Bauwhede, Heidi, 2014. "Does high-quality corporate communication reduce insider trading profitability?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-14.
    17. Paugam, Luc, 2011. "Valorisation et reporting du goodwill : enjeux théoriques et empiriques," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/8007 edited by Casta, Jean-François.
    18. Wang, Fengrong & Mbanyele, William & Muchenje, Linda, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock liquidity: The mitigating effect of information disclosure," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    19. Akram Khalilov, 2026. "Informational and cushioning properties of conservative balance sheets: a study of crises resilience," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 313-357, January.
    20. Ruch, George W. & Taylor, Gary, 2015. "Accounting conservatism: A review of the literature," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 17-38.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:fbbsrw:v:15:y:2026:i:1:p:101-111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.