외국인투자자지분율 및 BIG 4 감사인 여부가 가족기업 소유지분율의 가치관련성에 미치는 영향

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationships between family ownership share and corporate credit ratings over the subjects of firms listed on Korean stock markets from 2012 to 2017(t+1). The selection of samples was all manually performed through corporate bond rating data (TS-2000) provided by Korea Listed Companies Association and business reports provided by Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART). This study conducted multiple regression analysis in order to test its hypotheses. According to preceding studies, if corporate governance is superior, credit ratings are high, and capital costs are expected to be low, so that credit rating agencies also reflect creditors’ expectations to grant high credit ratings. In contrast, if blockholders’ share is high, controlling shareholders’ private interest pursuit behaviors are expected to have negative effects on related firms’ future repayment capabilities, so that corporate value decreases, whereas corporate value increases if ownership structure is dispersed. As domestic firms’ controlling family ownership share has recently increased, monitors play an important role in optimal evaluation on the reliability of accounting information provided by firms. As the role of monitors on blockholders, foreign investors’ active monitoring function acts as a signal to control agency problems. In addition, if audit quality is high, corporate value is high because audit quality has positive effects on credit rating. In order to test the effect of monitors’ role on credit rating over the subjects of firms with high family ownership shares, this study set up two research hypotheses, and so presented regression models for testing these hypotheses. The results of this study are as follows. First, for foreign investors’ monitoring role in family ownership firms, if foreign investor ownership share is high, family firm ownership share had relatively low positive(+) effects on credit ratings. This result means that, if foreign investor ownership share is high, foreign investors’ monitoring role can be effective in corporate value. Second, if firms’ external audit was performed by Big 4 auditors, family firm ownership share had relatively low positive(+) effects on credit ratings. This result means that Big4 auditors with high audit quality can be effective in corporate credit ratings. These results imply that credit rating agencies more highly evaluate the reliability of accounting information provided by firms which have high foreign investor ownership share and are audited by audit firms with its high audit quality, so that such reliability is positively applied to credit ratings. This study will provide additional information in that this study directly confirmed that foreign investors and audit firms’ audit play a role of monitoring which is positively applied to the reliability of accounting information.