Is a risk management committee essential in moderating the relationship between corporate governance and sustainability disclosure

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of corporate governance (CG) (board size, CEO duality, women on board, director experience and board independence) on sustainability disclosure (SD) and the moderating role of a risk management committee (RMC) in the relationship between CG and SD. As the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) strongly suggests to all publicly listed companies in Bursa Malaysia that they have a RMC to achieve corporate excellence. This study utilised a cross-sectional research design whereby the data was collected from the 2016 annual reports of 120 companies. The results indicate that there is empirical evidence that board size and board independence does have impact on SD while CEO duality, women on boards and director experience do not have any influence. Furthermore, this study fails to show evidence of a moderating role of RMC. The findings may guide the relevant government agencies such Bursa Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia and others in developing appropriate plans, best practices and regulations for business environments.