The impact of financial instruments disclosures on the cost of equity capital

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impact of financial instrument disclosures under the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 7 on the cost of equity capital (COEC). Design/methodology/approach: The sample consists of 56 banks listed in the Gulf cooperation council (GCC) stock markets over 7 years from 2011 to 2017. A self-constructed index is used to measure the compliance level in addition to quantitative methods and panel data regression adopted to test the research hypotheses. Findings: The authors find that the compliance level with IFRS 7 does not improve from 2011 until 2017 in the GCC banks. The authors also find that compliance with IFRS 7 disclosures reduces the COEC. Originality/value: The authors also provide new empirical evidence that the level of mandatory financial instruments disclosures under IFRS 7 reduces the COEC. The findings offer policy implications. It shows that compliance with IFRS 7 disclosure requirements leads to desirable economic consequences.