7. Conclusion
This paper examines whether IFRS adoption, investor protection and earnings quality are associated with cost of capital, measured by cost of equity capital and cost of debt, in Euro zone and Asian countries. After measuring these effects, the joint effects of IFRS adoption, investor protection and earnings quality on cost of capital are tested. Hence, for the purpose of this paper six hypotheses are investigated.
First, it is hypothesized that cost of capital is lower in years after the adoption of IFRS as compared to the period before the adoption. The results show that there is negative association between cost of capital (measured by either cost of equity capital or cost of debt) and IFRS adoption in Euro zone and Asian countries.
Second, it is expected that earnings quality reduces the cost of capital. The results are consistent the second hypothesis. Specifically, the findings indicate that earnings quality is negatively associated with cost of equity capital in Euro zone and Asian countries. However, the second hypothesis holds only for Euro zone countries, implying that earnings quality is negative associated with cost of debt.