Voluntary disclosure of information on the internet as determining the cost of debt

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate whether the level of voluntary disclosure of information is one of the determinants of the cost of debt. In this research, the level of voluntary disclosure of information was obtained through a survey of voluntary information published by the companies on the internet. Information to calculate the level of voluntary disclosure were obtained in the last quarter of 2009.  The research was classified as descriptive, quantitative and qualitative and documentary about the procedures. The non-probabilistic sample consists of 100 companies intentionally chosen among those most actively traded on the BM&FBOVESPA. The results of linear regression analysis revealed that there is a negative correlation between the level of of voluntary disclosure and the cost of debt. In the analyzed sample, the higher the level of disclosure is the lower cost of debt. It should be noted that the determination coefficient R2 showed that in the model, the independent variable of disclosure, company size, debt, total revenue and the company's participation in the stock exchange in New York through ADR, explain variations in 20.03% the cost of debt.