The Influence of Board Characteristics on Integrated Reporting Disclosure among Public Listed Companies in Malaysia

This study aims to examine the influence of the board characteristics (board size, board independence, board gender diversity, the average age of board members, and board activity level) on the extent of integrated reporting of the Public Listed Companies (PLCs) with the control for the effect of corporate characteristics (corporate size, financial performance, and leverage). The sample of this study consists of 99 corporate-year observations from 33 companies of the top 100 PLCs. Data was collected from integrated annual reports of the sample companies, which adopted integrated reporting from 2019 to 2021. The findings reveal that the average disclosure rate of integrated reports was 71%. Although board size, board independence, board gender diversity, the average age of board members, board activity level, and corporate size do not exhibit a statistically significant influence on the extent of integrated reporting, the study emphasized the significance of control variables, as financial performance and leverage showed significant negative relationships with the extent of integrated reporting. The findings offer valuable insights for PLCs and stakeholders seeking to enhance their understanding of the determinants of integrated reporting and enable them to make well-considered decisions and improve corporate transparency.