Does compliance with the German Corporate Governance Code pay off?: An investigation of the implied cost of capital

This paper aims to empirically investigate the relationship between the level of compliance
with the German Corporate Governance Code’s (GCGC) recommendations and the implied cost of equity capital (ICC). German listed companies are required by law to annually disclose their compliance with the recommendations of the GCGC. Whether the GCGC achieves its aim to promote the trust of stakeholders in the management and supervision is still an open question