Real earnings management and borrowing costs: The moderating effect of the directors’ and officers' liability insurance

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of real earnings management on firm borrowing cost of public-listed in Taiwanese manufacturing industry during 2010 to 2017, and also examines the moderating effect of the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance (D&O insurance) on real earnings management and borrowing costs. The empirical results show that borrowing cost is positively related to real earning management but negatively related to D&O insurance purchase. Therefore, the firms with D&O insurance than those without have lower borrowing costs, but the higher the D&O insurance amount, the higher the borrowing costs. Furthermore, D&O insurance has a moderating effect between the real earnings management and borrowing costs. Our findings suggest the relationship between D&O insurance and real earning management, which through the D&O insurance purchasing decision to impact on corporate borrowing costs. JEL classification numbers: G22, G32, M41. Keywords: Real earnings management, Directors’ and officers' liability insurance, Borrowing costs, Moderating effect.