ESG Disclosure, ESG Risk, Women's Sustainability Governance, and Cost of Debt

Muhammad Putra Aprullah (Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh)
Muhammad Arfan (Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh)
Yossi Diantimala (Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh)
Irsyadillah Irsyadillah (Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh)
Mohammadsadegh Omidvar (Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran)

Jurnal Akuntansi
Vol. 30 No. 3 (2026): September-December 2026

This study investigates whether ESG risk (ESGR) mediates the impact of ESG disclosure (ESGD) and women’s sustainability governance (FESG) on the cost of debt (COD). The analysis covers 120 non-financial firms from the IDX80 index between 2020 and 2023, selected through purposive sampling. Regression-based mediation analysis estimates both direct and indirect relationships among ESGD, ESGR, FESG, and COD. Results indicate that ESGD significantly reduces ESGR, and ESGR in turn increases COD, confirming ESGR’s mediating role between ESGD and COD. ESGD also directly lowers COD. In contrast, FESG does not significantly affect ESGR but has a significant direct effect on COD. These findings highlight ESG risk as a key channel through which ESG disclosure affects debt financing costs in an emerging market, while women’s sustainability governance primarily influences financing directly.