Research On The Impact Of CFO Gender On Enterprise Debt Cost

The type of corporate financing in our country is mainly debt financing.In the context of the macroeconomic downturn,reducing the cost of debt will help companies achieve high-quality development under the new situation.The CFO is liable for the company’s financial reporting process directly,participates in various investment and financing decisions,and plays an important role in the choice of corporate financing methods and the negotiation of financing costs.Compared with male CFOs,female CFOs tend to be risk averse,not overconfident,and have high moral requirements,which may have a unique effect on the cost of corporate debt.Therefore,it has vital theoretical value and practical value to study the relationship between female CFO and corporate debt cost.This paper chooses the data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen in China from 2008 to 2019 to study the relationship between the gender of CFOs and the cost of debt of companies.The empirical analysis results show that female CFO can effectively reduce debt cost,and the reduction effect is achieved by reducing agency costs and improving information disclosure quality.Further research found that the reduction effect of female CFO on debt cost is more significant in enterprises with low internal control quality and small CFO’s scope of authority.In addition,the study also found that when corporations are located in regions with less marketization and a poorer legal environment,the effect of female CFO on reducing the cost of corporate debt is more significant.The research conclusions of this paper support the unique role of female CFOs in corporate decision-making,provide new solutions for reducing corporate debt costs,and have certain implications for listed companies to improve governance structures,formulate reasonable talent appointment and promotion mechanisms,and optimize senior management team management.reference value.