内部控制缺陷与债务成本——基于财务信息质量视角

内部控制的目标之一是保证企业财务报告的可靠性,减少投资者与管理者之间的信息不对称性,降低债务成本。然而,企业内部控制重大缺陷是否会导致较高的债务成本?基于2008年～2010年深市主板上市公司财务数据,实证检验了企业内部控制重大缺陷与债务成本之间的关系。研究结论表明:公司存在内部控制重大缺陷时会有较高的债务成本,内部控制在债务成本上的有用性主要来源于内部控制重大缺陷影响到公司财务信息质量,进而影响债务投资者的投资决策。

The Deficiency of Internal Control and the Cost of Debt:A Study Based on the Perspective of Financial Information Quality

One of the objectives of internal control is to guarantee the reliability of a corporation’s financial reports,reduce the information asymmetry between its investors and managers,and reduce its financing costs.However,will there be a higher cost of debt if the corporation has a material weakness in its internal control? Based on the 2008-2010 financial data of the main-board listed companies in Shenzhen Stock Exchange,the paper examines the relationship between the material weakness of internal control and the cost of debt.It shows that the corporation will have a higher cost of debt if the material weakness of internal control exists;the usefulness of internal control in the cost of debt mainly comes from the impact of the material weakness of internal control on the quality of financial information in the corporation,which in turn affects the investment decision of its debt investors.