The Effects of IFRS Adoption in the European Union on Banks’ cost of Equity: Some Evidence from an Event Study

The effects of disclosure level on the cost of equity is a matter of considerable interest and importance to the financial reporting community. Economic theory indeed claims that commitment to increased level of disclosure reduces the cost of capital component that arises from information asymmetries. Accordingly, this paper investigates the effects of IFRS adoption in Europe on the cost of equity for the bank industry. In doing so, it performs an event study, which isolates the effects of accounting changes on the cost of capital from institutional and enforcement mechanisms. This study shows that IFRS adoption has exerted, on average, a positive effect on the cost of capital for the bank industry at least in the very short run. Firms adopting IFRS seem to have experienced a lower cost of equity in the period immediately subsequent the release of financial reporting according to the new accounting standard set.