Do audited firms have a lower cost of debt?

The purpose of this study is to investigate if audited financial statements add value for firms in the private debt market. Using an instrumental variable method, we find that firms with audited financial statements, on average, save 0.47 percentage points on the cost of debt compared to firms with unaudited financial statements. We also find that using the big, well-known auditing firms does not yield any additional cost of debt benefits. Lastly, we investigate if there are industries where alternative sources of information make auditing less valuable in reducing the cost of debt. Here, we find that auditing is less important in lowering cost in one industry, agriculture, where one lender has a 74% market share and a 100-year history of lending to firms within that industry. As such, it seems that lenders having high exposure to a certain industry might act as an alternative to auditing in reducing the information asymmetry between the firm and the lender.

The mechanisms linking the finance-growth relationship in view of the financial crisis: an empirical investigation of the EU countries

PurposeThe paper aims to explore the mechanisms linking the impact of financial development on economic growth and focuses on the long-term post-global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs panel data for twenty-five European Union countries over the period 1995–2017. Principal Component Analysis is employed to produce two aggregate indices, namely financial banking sector development and stock market sector development. The empirical analysis is based on estimates through the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method.FindingsThe results suggest that the outbreak of the crisis has led to a disruption of the positive finance-growth relationship, and the banking sector dominates in this adverse effect. The foreknowledge of the current study is that the linking mechanisms of the negative impact of financial development on economic growth, ten years after the global financial crisis, are household debt, private debt, and non-performing loans for the banking sector, while for the equity market this is the case through savings. Interestingly, the results reveal that unemployment increase excessively the borrowers' debt level and then the non-performing loans.Research limitations/implicationsAn implication is that the increase of credit supply and any monetary expansion along with lack of regulatory control and monitoring can lead banks to a higher risk exposure through household and private debt as well as non-performing loans. Besides, the higher levels of unemployment rates call attention for the trade-off between prudential regulation on the supply of loans and economic activity, since higher unemployment affect the non-performing loans and, as a consequence discourage the demand, increase precautionary savings, and cancel or postpone investment decisions, thus, affecting the equity market.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful insights to economists and policymakers who are interested in understanding the weakness of banking and stock market sectors to promote economic growth for a long time after the global financial crisis.

EFFECT OF EXTERNAL DEBT LIABILITY ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN KENYA

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of external debt liability on economic growth in Kenya. Materials and Methods: The descriptive research design was adopted. The target population was three institutions: The National Treasury, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, and the World Bank. The study used time series data. The designated sample for this study covered a period of 43 years (1977–2019). Secondary data was used in this study. The data collected was on GDP of Kenya between 1977 and 2019, External public debt in terms of US dollars from 1977 to 2019, External private debt from 1977 and 2019 and external debt service payments from 1977 to 2019, all in US dollars. A data collection sheet was used to collect the data on the four variables. World Bank and World Development Indicator economic Meta data and published data by Central Bank of Kenya and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics were the source of data for this study. The study used Eviews version 10 for analyzing and presenting study findings. The study employed multivariate time series and panel data regression analysis. The model employed GDP as a measure of economic growth and external public debt, external private debt, and external debt service payment as its main independent variables. Results: The study found out that only the external private debt and the debt service payment showed bilateral causal relationship. External public debt and external private debt had a positive and significant effect on the GDP, indicating that external debt promotes economic growth in Kenya. The external debt service payment showed a negative and a significant effect on the GDP as well. The model explained 97% variability of the GDP as explained by the three independent variables combined. The 3% is attributed to other factors, not included in this study. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends a more robust multivariate model to be employed to include more macro-economic variables to explain economic growth. A decade-to-decade comparison can also be done to compare the effects of the external debt on Kenyan economic growth in different time intervals. Fiscal and monetary policies should be reviewed to encourage more domestic and foreign investments and discourage external borrowing to fund budget deficits or projects with low or no returns.

Debt financing and classification shifting of private firms

Purpose This study aims to examine whether debt financing creates incentives for private firms to engage in earnings management via classification shifting. Especially, the authors examine whether debt-induced financial reporting incentives differ depending on the type of debt (i.e. public bonds versus private loans) and whether such incentives are influenced by the characteristics of external auditors (i.e. initial audits and auditor size). Design/methodology/approach The study uses data on 93,427 Korean private firms from 2001 to 2016. Classification shifting is measured by the positive correlation between non-core expenses and unexpected core earnings estimated with ordinary least squares. Findings The empirical analyses reveal that private firms engage in classification shifting as do public firms. Importantly, classification shifting is observed only in private firms that have outstanding debt, but not in private firms without debt. Among debt-financing private firms, classification shifting is more prevalent for firms that issue public debt than for firms that only use private debt. In addition, classification shifting of debt-financing private firms is more successful when they are audited by new auditors that are one of the non-Big 4 firms. Research limitations/implications The study provides evidence of classification shifting in private firms, which is novel to the literature. However, the inferences in the study depend on the validity of the model for detecting classification shifting. Practical implications This study helps lenders enhance their understanding on the financial reporting behaviors of borrowing firms. The results in this study suggest that lenders should be cautious in using core earnings for their investment decisions. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing novel evidence of classification shifting in private firms. In addition, the authors contribute to the literature on debt-induced incentives for financial reporting.

Private lenders' use of analyst earnings forecasts when establishing debt covenant thresholds

We examine whether lenders use analyst forecasts of the borrower's earnings as inputs when establishing covenant thresholds in private debt contracts. We find that, among debt contracts that include an earnings covenant, earnings thresholds are set closer to analyst forecasts when analysts have historically issued more accurate earnings forecasts. These results are robust to firm fixed effects and an instrumental variable approach. Further, we find that, following a plausibly exogenous decline in the availability of analyst earnings forecasts, debt contracts are less likely to include earnings covenants. Our evidence is consistent with lenders using analyst earnings forecasts as an input when establishing debt covenant thresholds and suggests sell-side analysts play a role in debt contracting.

Innovation on the choice of debt financing source: evidence from innovative firms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the innovative firm’s proprietary information has an impact on its debt financing preference. This study also examines the impact of industry-level competition on the debt financing orders and investigates how two exogenous shocks impacted on innovative firms’ financing policies. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the three types of debt data, including bonds, private debt placements and bank loans and patent application data, in the USA from 1987–2008. The number of patents applications and industry-level competition are used as proxies for a firm’s innovation and industry-level sensitivity. In addition, to minimize endogenous concern, this study uses the propensity score matching analysis and difference-in-differences. Findings The patents are the primary determinants for innovative firms to choose the debt types. The paper shows that innovative firms have the debt preference order – public debt, private placement and bank loans. However, as competition increases, innovative firms devise the order reverse. Finally, the paper provides evidence that the American Inventor’s Protection Act (AIPA) and the tech bubble crash made investors depend more on firms with more patents. Originality/value This paper is the first to study the impact of the AIPA on innovative firms’ financial policies using the propensity score matching analysis. The findings imply that both patents and industry-level competition are important factors to understand the capital structures for innovative firms.

PRIVATE DEBT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: TRENDS AND CHARACTERISTICS FOR UKRAINE

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to determine the effects on economic activity of a pure temporary change in private debt and the relationship between the debt multiplier and the level of economic growth in Ukraine. Design/methodology/approach. In the article, the authors used the function of exponential growth for determining the GDP sensibility to the debt movements. There are also using the Granger approach for determining the direction of the relation between private debt and GPD. Rather than testing whether private debt causes GDP, the Granger causality has tested whether private debt forecasts GDP. The authors provided the calculation in the direct and indirect methods. The model of the direct method was based on the assumption that the GDP growth in the current period depends on the dynamics of GDP and increase of private debt in the previous period. The model of indirect correlation was based on the assumption that the increase of the amounts of private debt depends on the former dynamics of GDP and the amount of private debt accumulated in the previous period. Findings. The hypothesis that the GDP sensibility to the private debt movements is individual for every economy is proven. The households’ debt to GDP ratio and non-financial firms’ debt to GDP ratio for the conditions of economy of Ukraine is one of the lowest in Europe, which proves the low attractiveness of debt financing of the private sector growth. The authors show that elevated private debt sentiment in year t+3 is associated with a rising in economic activity in year t. Such conclusion is fair as for the sensitivity to the households’ debt movements and so to the firms’ debt movements. The increase in private debt causes the insufficient influence on the GDP increasing, so we cannot consider the debt market growth as a stimulator of the economy growth in Ukraine. The authors showed the existence of a relation between the GDP growth and increase of private debt only in indirect model. Private sector debt cycle more correlated with the business cycles: in the case of GDP growth the private debt rises also. But, the strength of influence of the GDP growth on the private debt growth is temperate: while the increase in the GDP by 1 % in the medium predicts 0.055 % subsequent private debt growth. Practical implications. The debt-growth nexus has received renewed interest among academics and policy makers. The results of this research are of interest to the government in its way of economic reform and generating effective tools to overcome the economic downturn. Also, the findings can help the financial market regulators to realize the effective monetary policy. Originality/value. This study represents a new evidence of relations between private debt and the real economy. In contrast to existing research the authors argued the reality of indirect impact of economical cycles to the private debt dynamic. But, the strength of influence of the GDP growth on the private debt growth is temperate. So it’s wrong to consider the debt market development as a stimulator of the economic growth in Ukraine. In contrast to the developed countries in Ukraine the main part of private debt belongs to firms.