Author(s)

Chae-Won Ra^*, Ho-Young Lee^*

School of Business, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.

The voluntary and mandatory introduction of a new information technology, XBRL, in 2006 and 2007 by the Financial Supervisory Services of Korea has significantly affected capital markets, possibly through a reduction in the information asymmetry between firms and users of financial information. This study examines how changes in the information environment attributable to XBRL adoption affect the cost of capital and whether the adoption reduces reporting lags for both voluntary and mandatory filers. Using a 152 firm-year sample, this study finds evidence that the cost of equity capital declined after XBRL adoption, and this decline was greater for voluntary filers with higher information asymmetry. Mandatory filers also experienced incremental reductions in their costs of equity capital after the adoption. Additionally, this study finds evidence that financial reporting lags decrease for both voluntary and mandatory adopters after the adoption. Firms with reduced reporting lags after the adoption experience reduction in cost of capital.

Information Technology, XBRL, Cost of Equity Capital, Information Asymmetry, Reporting Lag

Ra, C. and Lee, H. (2018) XBRL Adoption, Information Asymmetry, Cost of Capital, and Reporting Lags. iBusiness, 10, 93-118. doi: 10.4236/ib.2018.103006.