Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Relationship between leverage and corporate profitability in Chile: The moderating effect of IFRS

PDF

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between leverage and corporate profitability in Chile, with a focus on the moderating effect of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) since 2013. We used a System-GMM approach to analyze 41 companies from the Selective Share Price Index (IPSA) over the period 2008-2023. We find that, prior to IFRS implementation, there was a negative relationship between leverage and profitability. However, following the adoption of these standards, the relationship became neutral. The findings suggest that the enhanced quality of financial information provided by IFRS can influence strategic decisions regarding corporate financing and management, underscoring the importance of transparency in an emerging economy.

 

 JEL Codes: G3, G32.

Received: 15/08/2024.  Accepted: 28/01/2025. Published: 03/05/2025.

 

Keywords

Corporate capital structure, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Emerging Economy, Firm Performance

PDF

Author Biography

Daniela Niño

 

 

 


References

  1. Abdullah, H., & Tursoy, T. (2021). Capital structure and firm performance: Evidence of Germany under IFRS adoption. Review of Managerial Science, 15(2), 379-398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-019-00344-5
  2. Abu Alrub, A., Ağa, M., & Rjoub, H. (2020). Does the improvement in accounting standard IAS/IFRS cure the financial crisis and bank profitability? Evidence from banking sector in Lebanon. Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, 27(6), 727-744. https://doi.org/10.1080/16081625.2018.1435288
  3. Adair, P., Adaskou, M., & McMillan, D. (2015). Trade-off-theory vs. pecking order theory and the determinants of corporate leverage: Evidence from a panel data analysis upon French SMEs (2002–2010). Cogent Economics & Finance, 3(1). https://econpapers.repec.org/article/tafoaefxx/v_3a3_3ay_3a2015_3ai_3a1_3ap_3a1006477.htm
  4. Appiah, K. O., Gyimah, P., & Adom, M. B. (2020). Advancing firms performance in Ghana: Does IFRS adoption matter? African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 7(2), 143-154. https://doi.org/10.1504/AJAAF.2020.111730
  5. Arellano, M., & Bond, S. (1991). Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations. The Review of Economic Studies, 58(2), 277-297. https://doi.org/10.2307/2297968
  6. Barth, M. E., Li, K., & McClure, C. G. (2023). Evolution in value relevance of accounting information. The Accounting Review, 98(1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2019-0521
  7. Beck, T., & Demirguc-Kunt, A. (2006). Small and medium-size enterprises: Access to finance as a growth constraint. Journal of Banking & Finance, 30(11), 2931-2943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2006.05.009
  8. Berger, A. N., & Bonaccorsi di Patti, E. (2006). Capital structure and firm performance: A new approach to testing agency theory and an application to the banking industry. Journal of Banking & Finance, 30(4), 1065-1102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2005.05.015
  9. Cassar, G. (2004). The financing of business start-ups. Journal of Business Venturing, 19(2), 261-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(03)00029-6
  10. Chechet, I. L., & Olayiwola, A. B. (2014). Capital structure and profitability of Nigerian quoted firms: The agency cost theory perspective. Semantics Scholar. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Capital-Structure-and-Profitability-of-Nigerian-The-Chechet-Olayiwola/533cf414c04bd4f6af86a1bfc3926166f94e8faf
  11. Chougule, A. (2023). A study on IFRS and its impact on selected Indian companies. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, XCV(48), 18-23.
  12. Chowdhury, A., & Chowdhury, S. (2010). Impact of capital structure on firm’s value: Evidence from Bangladesh. Business and Economic Horizons, 3(3). http://dx.doi.org/ 10.22004/ag.econ.128681
  13. Dang, H. N., Vu, V. T. T., Ngo, X. T., & Hoang, H. T. V. (2019). Study the impact of Growth, firm size, capital structure, and profitability on enterprise value: evidence of enterprises in Vietnam. Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, 30(1), 144-160. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22371
  14. Daske, H., Hail, L., Leuz, C., & Verdi, R. (2008). Mandatory IFRS reporting around the world: early evidence on the economic consequences. Journal of Accounting Research, 46(5), 1085-1142. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-679X.2008.00306.x
  15. Daske, H., Hail, L., Leuz, C., & Verdi, R. (2013). Adopting a label: heterogeneity in the economic consequences around IAS/IFRS adoptions. Journal of Accounting Research, 51(3), 495-547. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12005
  16. Devalle, A., Magarini, R., & Onali, E. (2014). Assessing the value relevance of accounting data after IFRS introduction in Europe. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2420765
  17. Diamond, D. W. (1991). Monitoring and reputation: the choice between bank loans and directly placed debt. Journal of Political Economy, 99(4), 689-721. https://doi.org/10.1086/261775
  18. Espinosa-Méndez, C., & Arias, J. (2021). COVID-19 effect on herding behaviour in European capital markets. Finance Research Letters, 38, 101787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101787
  19. Flannery, M. J., & Rangan, K. P. (2006). Partial adjustment toward target capital structures. Journal of Financial Economics, 79(3), 469-506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2005.03.004
  20. Fosu, S., Danso, A., Ahmad, W., & Coffie, W. (2016). Information asymmetry, leverage and firm value: do crisis and growth matter? International Review of Financial Analysis, 46, 140-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2016.05.002
  21. Frank, M. Z., & Goyal, V. K. (2009). Capital structure decisions: which factors are reliably important? Financial Management, 38(1), 1-37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2009.01026.x
  22. Gassen, J., & Sellhorn, T. (2006). Applying IFRS in Germany: determinants and consequences. SSRN Scholarly Paper. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.906802
  23. Houqe, M. N., Van Zijl, T., Dunstan, K., & Karim, A. K. M. W. (2012). The effect of IFRS adoption and investor protection on earnings quality around the world. The International Journal of Accounting, 47(3), 333-355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intacc.2012.07.003
  24. Kim, J. H. (2018). Asset specificity and firm value: evidence from mergers. Journal of Corporate Finance, 48, 375-412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2017.11.010
  25. Le, T. P. V., & Phan, T. B. N. (2017). Capital structure and firm performance: empirical evidence from a small transition country. Research in International Business and Finance, 42, 710-726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2017.07.012
  26. Lemmon, M. L., Roberts, M. R., & Zender, J. F. (2008). Back to the beginning: persistence and the cross-section of corporate capital structure. The Journal of Finance, 63(4), 1575-1608. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2008.01369.x
  27. Matemilola, B. T., Bany-Ariffin, A. N., Azman-Saini, W. N. W., & Nassir, A. M. (2019). Impact of institutional quality on the capital structure of firms in developing countries. Emerging Markets Review, 39, 175-209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2019.04.003
  28. McLean, R. D., & Zhao, M. (2014). The business cycle, investor sentiment, and costly external finance. The Journal of Finance, 69(3), 1377-1409. https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.12047
  29. Memon, P. A., Md-Rus, R., & Ghazali, Z. B. (2021). Adjustment speed towards target capital structure and its determinants. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 34(1), 1966-1984. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2020.1860792
  30. Modigliani, F., & Miller, M. (1958). The cost of capital, corporation finance and the theory of investment. The American Economic Review, 48(3), 261-297. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.3594.952
  31. Modigliani, F., & Miller, M. (1963). Corporate income taxes cost capital correction. The American Economic Review ,53(3), 433-443. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1809167
  32. Muñoz-Mendoza, J. A., Sepúlveda-Yelpo, S. M., & Veloso-Ramos, C. L. (2019). Non-linear effects of ownership structure, growth opportunities and leverage on debt maturity in Chilean firms. Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas, 14(1), 21-40. https://doi.org/10.21919/remef.v14i1.357
  33. Myers, S. C. (1977). Determinants of corporate borrowing. Journal of Financial Economics, 5(2), 147-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(77)90015-0
  34. Myers, S. C., & Majluf, N. S. (1984). Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have. Journal of Financial Economics, 13(2), 187-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(84)90023-0
  35. Nnadi, M., & Soobaroyen, T. (2015). International financial reporting standards and foreign direct investment: The case of Africa. Advances in Accounting, 31(2), 228-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adiac.2015.09.007
  36. Ozkaya, H. (2018). Effect of mandatory IFRS adoption on cost of debt in Turkey. Business and Economics Research Journal, 9, 579-588. https://doi.org/10.20409/berj.2018.124
  37. Pacter, P. (2017). Pocket guide to IFRS standards: the global financial reporting language. IFRS Foundation.
  38. Roberts, M. R., & Whited, T. M. (2013). Chapter 7—Endogeneity in empirical corporate finance1. En G. M. Constantinides, M. Harris, & R. M. Stulz (Eds.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance (Vol. 2, pp. 493-572). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-44-453594-8.00007-0
  39. Rojas Molina, L. K. (2022). Implementación de NIIF 15 en compañías listadas en la bolsa de valores de Colombia y Santiago de Chile. Revista científica Pensamiento y Gestión, 53, 61-89. https://doi.org/10.14482/pege.53.701.252
  40. Roodman, D. (2006). How to do Xtabond2: An Introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata (SSRN Scholarly Paper 982943). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.982943
  41. Santos, M. A. C. D., & Cavalcante, P. R. N. (2014). Effect of the adoption of IFRS on the information relevance of accounting profits in Brazil. Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, 25(66), 228-241. https://doi.org/10.1590/1808-057x201410690
  42. Santos-Garcia, I. A., & Lopes-Lucena, W. G. (2022). Adoção mandatória das IFRS influencia na previsão de crescimento e rentabilidade? Uma análise em países emergentes. Revista Contemporânea de Contabilidade, 19(50), 95-106. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8069.2022.e78851
  43. Uyar, A., Kılıç, M., & Ataman Gökçen, B. (2016). Compliance with IAS/IFRS and firm characteristics: Evidence from the emerging capital market of Turkey. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 29(1), 148-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2016.1163949
  44. Van Beusichem, H., De Jong, A., DeJong, D., & Mertens, G. (2016). Transparency, corporate governance and firm performance in The Netherlands. Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, 90(7/8), 308-322. https://doi.org/10.5117/mab.90.31343
  45. Vásquez Quevedo, N. (2013). Impacto de las normas de información financiera en la relevancia de la información financiera en México. Contaduría y Administración, 58(2), 61-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0186-1042(13)71210-5
  46. Vo, X. V., & Ellis, C. (2017). An empirical investigation of capital structure and firm value in Vietnam. Finance Research Letters, 22, 90-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2016.10.014
  47. Wahba, H. (2014). Capital structure, managerial ownership and firm performance: Evidence from Egypt. Journal of Management & Governance, 18(4), 1041-1061. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-013-9271-8
  48. Welch, I. (2004). Capital structure and stock returns. Journal of Political Economy, 112(1), 106-131. https://doi.org/10.1086/379933
  49. Wintoki, M. B., Linck, J. S., & Netter, J. M. (2012). Endogeneity and the dynamics of internal corporate governance. Journal of Financial Economics, 105(3), 581-606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2012.03.005

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.