Journal of Applied Finance & Banking

How does Corporate Governance Affect Free Cash Flow?

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• Abstract

  According to the free cash flow hypothesis, large free cash flows are likely to lead to managerial discretion and agency problems. This is because retaining free cash flows reduces the ability of capital market to monitor managers. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate governance and free cash flow for a sample of Canadian companies. This study does not find evidence supporting the agency costs of free cash flow hypothesis. The results show that better governed firms have larger free cash flows. The increased free cash flows can be a result of better internal operating efficiency.