Cost of capital is one essential corporate tool in the world of finance. The importance of the cost of capital is very high as it is directly linked to the valuation of the business. At a time when businesses are keen to get involved in anything and everything that adds value to the firms, the concept of cost of capital is the cynosure. There are numerous activities in which a firm generally gets involved. All such activities can be classified as operational and non-operational. The operational activities are supposed to influence the valuation by design. However, the non-operational activities, namely transparency and valuation, ESG (environmental, social and governance) related initiatives, shareholders activism and corporate governance, all are aimed at adding value to the firm. The ultimate influence of all the operational and non-operation activities fall on the cost of capital (either directly or indirectly) and reflects on its linkages with the valuation of the businesses.