企業借款成本攸關資本結構與財務彈性，其高低對仰賴外部借款之企業具關鍵影響。債權人會對公司治理品質與資訊透明度的進行評估，並以債務合約來定價風險。本研究以美國上市公司為樣本，實證結果發現當財務長具備董事資格，企業借款成本較低。進一歩將樣本進行橫斷面分析後發現，在營運風險較高與財務體質較弱的子樣本中，財務長擔任董事對借款成本之降低效果更為明顯。穩健性測試納入控制財務長個人特徵（性別、相對權力）變數後，主要結果依然成立。係因於擔任董事的財務長兼備內部財務專業及熟悉資本市場運作，能傳達債權人風險擔憂給董事會，確保董事會的決策顧及債權人的期望，亦能對債權人清楚說明董事會決策流程之脈絡，降低企業與債權人之間的資訊不對稱所致。

This study examines the relationship between CFO on board and cost of debt using data from publicly listed U.S. firms. The cost of debt serves as a strategic determinant in sculpting a firm’s capital structure and financial responsiveness. Creditors evaluate the quality of corporate governance and information transparency, and incorporate these assessments into risk pricing through debt contracts. The empirical results indicate that firms incur lower cost of debt when the CFO holds a position on the board of directors. Subsequent cross-sectional analyses reveals that the inverse relationship between CFO board membership and the cost of debt becomes more pronounced among firms exhibiting higher operational risk and weaker financial conditions. Robustness checks controlling for CFO-specific characteristics—such as gender and relative compensation power—continue to support the main findings. CFOs serving on the board could combine financial expertise with capital market insight, allowing them to convey creditors’ risk concerns to the board, align decisions with creditor expectations, and clarify decision-making processes, thus reducing information asymmetry between creditors and the board.

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