Conditional Conservatism and the Cost of Equity Capital: Informational, Fundamental and Behavioral Effects

Abstract

Conditional conservatism (CON) is related to the cost of equity capital in a complex way, especially in imperfect markets. Prior literature suggests that CON affects the information precision and information asymmetry, resulting in either increased or decreased cost of equity. In addition, CON may influence firms’ investment decisions and exacerbate their fundamental operating risks, and investors are asymmetrically loss-averse to more bad earnings news reporting via conservative disclosure, both of which contribute to a higher equity cost. This paper empirically examines the impact of CON on the cost of equity capital through these informational, fundamental and behavioral risk effects, and detects a significantly positive association between CON and equity cost by adopting accounting-based CON proxies and equity cost measures adjusted for unexpected cash flow shocks. Using the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) as a natural experiment, we find that the positive CON-equity cost relation disappears in the post-SOX period, consistent with diminished informational, operational, and behavioral risk effects engendered by SOX regulations.