Impact of XBRL on Voluntary Adopters' Financial Reporting Quality and Cost of Equity Capital

Abstract

ABSTRACT We investigate whether corporate governance quality explains differences in financial reporting quality and cost of capital following the XBRL Voluntary Filing Program (VFP) launched by the SEC. Research on the effects of voluntary XBRL adoption remains valuable, as a bill recently introduced in Congress could revert the majority of U.S. public companies to voluntary compliance. Further, such research informs investors, researchers, and regulators in other countries that do not yet require XBRL. We hypothesize that the likelihood of achieving XBRL's expected benefits is greater in companies with stronger corporate governance. For instance, such companies might implement XBRL in ways that substantially improve information gathering and reporting; or make better use of XBRL to enhance its benefits, regardless of implementation strategy. Results confirm the expected interactive effect of voluntary XBRL adoption and corporate governance strength on both financial reporting quality and cost of capital. These findings suggest that not all voluntary adopters benefited from XBRL; rather, only those with superior corporate governance show measurable benefits during our study period.