A Survey of External and Internal Factors Influencing the Cost of Equity

Abstract

The cost of equity is an essential element of a business' financial decision-making process, which is influenced by a number of internal and external factors. This study intends to answer the question on how Czech CFOs perceive the impact of overall-economic and firm-specific factors on the cost of equity. The survey was carried out in 2015 and our sample covers 40 respondents. The findings show that there is a gap between the theory and practice and that the country’s specifics, in particular the low level of the financial market development, play a significant role in the perception of cost of equity capital determinants. First, the most commonly used cost of equity estimation approach is based on average historical returns. A considerably large number of the CFOs think that the ownership structure, dividend policy, ability to forecast financial results, stability of company´s earnings and flexibility in capital raising are the internal factors with the most significant impact on the cost of equity. Otherwise, a rather low number of respondents consider the information asymmetry, corporate governance and financial performance as having a strong influence on the cost of equity. In regard to the external factors, a substantial majority of the respondents acknowledges that the long- and short-term interest rates as well as inflation, sovereign debt and risks linked to the banking system and financial market strongly affect the cost of equity.The cost of equity is an essential element of a business' financial decision-making process, which is influenced by a number of internal and external factors. This study intends to answer the question on how Czech CFOs perceive the impact of overall-economic and firm-specific factors on the cost of equity. The survey was carried out in 2015 and our sample covers 40 respondents. The findings show that there is a gap between the theory and practice and that the country’s specifics, in particular the low level of the financial market development, play a significant role in the perception of cost of equity capital determinants. First, the most commonly used cost of equity estimation approach is based on average historical returns. A considerably large number of the CFOs think that the ownership structure, dividend policy, ability to forecast financial results, stability of company´s earnings and flexibility in capital raising are the internal factors with the most significant impact on the cost of equity. Otherwise, a rather low number of respondents consider the information asymmetry, corporate governance and financial performance as having a strong influence on the cost of equity. In regard to the external factors, a substantial majority of the respondents acknowledges that the long- and short-term interest rates as well as inflation, sovereign debt and risks linked to the banking system and financial market strongly affect the cost of equity.