| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 會計學研究所 === 107 === This thesis takes companies listed on Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) or Taipei Exchange (TPEx) from 2010 to 2017 as research samples, and uses Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method to explore the impact of changes in independent directors on the cost of debt. The types of changes in independent directors can be divided into three categories, namely re-election, dismissal, and resignation. The first two are passive departures, and the third is voluntary resignation. In the main empirical research, this thesis investigates the relationship between the changes in independent directors and the cost of debt. In additional test, this thesis explores investors’ view on the changes in independent directors, as well as whether the changes in independent directors would have deferred effect, namely whether it would affect the cost of debt in the next period.
The results show that voluntary resignation of independent directors would increase the cost of debt. In the presence of information asymmetry, creditors are uncertain about the true state of the company, which would lead to an increase in the cost of debt. Also, creditors would take into account the reasons for the voluntary resignation of independent directors. Regarding the characteristics of the independent directors, if the independent director is a female, the cost of debt would reduce; if the voluntarily resigned independent director has finance or accounting background, the cost of debt would rise. The results show that the types of changes in independent directors and the characteristics of the independent directors would result in different impacts on the cost of debt.
In additional test, the results show that the investors are more concerned with the benefits brought by replacing the unsuitable independent directors than the information implied by the act of voluntary resignation of independent directors. In addition, voluntary resignation of independent directors would affect the cost of debt in the next period. This result indicates that voluntary resignation of independent directors may imply that the future performance of the company could deteriorate, which could cause creditors to require higher debt interest rates in the next period. In conclusion, the results show that changes in independent directors would affect the views of creditors on the company, which in turn would affect the cost of debt of the company.
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