Principi contabili internazionali e società non quotate: quali conseguenze sul costo del debito?

The aim of this study is to test whether the voluntary adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) had an impact on the cost of debt of private companies in Italy. On the one hand, IFRS should facilitate debt financing and make it less costly, as these standards are generally perceived as being of higher quality compared to national GAAP. On the other hand, they leave space to higher discretion in their application and they might therefore contribute to increased information asymmetry, with a negative impact on debt access and cost. Empirical results show that IFRS adopters are characterized by lower cost of debt suggesting a beneficial effect deriving from the voluntary adoption of IFRS.