Integrated information and the cost of capital

Previous research has revealed that disclosing financial information gives important economic advantages to companies. This work aims to extend the existing empirical evidence, analysing the effect that the disclosure of integrated information has on the cost of capital. Accordingly, we used a sample of 995 companies in 27 countries and 3294 observations. The period in which the sample was taken was from 2009 to 2013. The results, after applying the panel data methodology, confirmed that a negative relationship exists between the cost of capital and the disclosure of an integrated report. The reduction of the cost of capital as a result of the disclosure of an integrated report is especially relevant to those companies that need to increase their basic funding. They have considerable problems with asymmetric information or they operate in markets with limited protection for investors.