The relationship between a firm’s information environment and its cash holding decision

Abstract

This study directly investigates the relationship between the firm’s information environment and its cash holding decision using two separate country-level events as proxies for a general improvement of the information environment: the initial enforcement of new insider trading laws and the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. Analysing a large international sample, we find that firms reduce their cash holdings after both exogenous information shocks. We also find that the reductions are greater for firms facing greater financing constraints and agency issues, and for those for which the informational shocks are stronger. Further analyses reveal a reduction in firms’ average cash savings rate, an increase in performance, an increase in the use of external debt, a decrease in abnormal investment, and an increase in the value of cash holdings. Taken together, our results suggest that an improvement in the information environment mitigates both the adverse selection and moral hazard problems thereby, leading to a reduction in cash reserves held for transaction and precautionary motives, and the likelihood of entrenched managers building large cash balances for private benefit.