The Role of Internal Control in the Equity Issue Market: Evidence From Seasoned Equity Offerings

Abstract

This article examines the role of internal control requirements under the Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002 in firms’ cost of raising equity capital. We find that, prior to the disclosure of internal control weaknesses (ICWs), ICWs are not directly associated with underwriters’ gross spread and seasoned equity offering (SEO) underpricing. After the disclosure, however, underwriters charge a risk premium on ICW issuers, especially on those disclosing ICWs in multiple consecutive years. We also find that SEO underpricing is exacerbated by multiple-year-disclosed ICWs but not by first-timers. More notably, we find that managers play a dominant role in deciding issue size pre-disclosure, but this dominance weakens post-disclosure. Taken together, our evidence suggests that internal controls help moderate the cost of raising equity capital and that ICW disclosures have significant implications for underwriters in the equity issue market.