Anticipatory Effects of Accounting Standards: The Lease Exposure Draft

Abstract

We examine the anticipatory effect triggered by the issuance of the lease exposure draft (ED), which proposed capitalizing most operating leases, on the cost of debt of firms that rely heavily on operating leases. Employing a difference-in-differences design, we find a significant increase in loan spreads for firms with higher operating lease intensity after the issuance of the ED, notably, even before the issuance of ASC 842. We explore potential channels through which this anticipatory effect occurs and find evidence supporting a perceived default risk channel and a Hirshleifer effect channel. We further investigate the real effects of the ED, finding both an operating lease substitution effect and a decrease in investments. Our results highlight the importance of the anticipatory effects of accounting standards.

Keywords: Anticipation, Exposure draft, Operating leases, Cost of capital

JEL Classification: G14, G21, G32, M41