--%>

Effect of illegal obligations on cost of equity

If dividends paid to common stockholders are not legal obligations of a corporation, is the cost of equity zero?  Describe your answer.

Even though common stockholders do not contain a contractual claim on dividends the funds supplied by stockholders definitely contain a cost.  Equity investors are paid last and therefore they are taking the greatest risk among all of the suppliers of capital.  If the company does not get a higher rate of return onto equity funds to compensate for the higher risk taken through equity investors, the price of the stock will fall and thus the value of the firm. 

   Related Questions in Managerial Accounting

  • Q : What is Service What do you mean by

    What do you mean by Service: It is an intangible product or task rendered directly to a client or customer.

  • Q : Federal budget Choose the right answer

    Choose the right answer from following. Which one did not contribute to the large Federal budget deficits in the year of 2002 and 2003? A) spending on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. B) low interest rates. C) Federal tax cuts. D) the recession of 2001 and its afterm

  • Q : Reasons for favoring partnership deed

    Give reasons in favor of having a partnership deed. Answer: A) In situation of any dispute or doubt, Partnership deed is the gui

  • Q : Changing business landscape What do you

    What do you mean by the term changing business landscape?

  • Q : Annual report A company's annual report

      A company's annual report is the single most important way for it to convey itself to potential investors. As such, it should be no surprise tha

  • Q : Define Process and Process Costing

    Define Process and Process Costing: Process: The organized process of transforming inputs (that is, people, equipment, techniques, materials, and atmosphere), to outputs (that is, products or servi

  • Q : Explain Cost Allocation Cost Allocation

    Cost Allocation: This is a technique of assigning costs to activities, outputs, or other cost objects. The allocation base employed to assign a cost to objects is not essentially the cause of the cost. For illustration, assigning the

  • Q : Define partnership A partnership is

    A partnership is stated as ‘the relationship which subsists among persons carrying on business in common with a view togain or profit’

  • Q : Define Cost Accounting Cost Accounting

    Cost Accounting: The Cost accounting is an approach to evaluate the overall costs which are related with conducting business. It is generally based on standard accounting practices, cost accounting is one of the tools which managers u

  • Q : Bonds payable A form of long-term debt

    A form of long-term debt that appears  in the liabilities section of the balance sheet. A company sells bond as a way to borrow large amount of cash. The buyer pays for the bond and receives regular interest payment, annually or semiannually, for the duration of