Corporate governance, ownership structure and voluntary disclosure: evidence from listed firms in Malaysia

This paper examines the impact of corporate governance and ownership structure on voluntary disclosure practices of Malaysian listed firms. The extent of voluntary disclosure is determined for a matched-sample of 100 listed firms in three different disclosure regimes during 1996, 2001 and 2006. The findings suggest that regulatory reforms over the 1996 to 2006 period resulted in enhanced corporate transparency and accountability as reflected in more extensive voluntary disclosures. We provide empirical evidence that the extent of voluntary disclosures is significantly associated with the strength of corporate governance structure in 2001 and 2006 and with ownership structure in 1996, 2001 and 1996. The findings of this study are of use to regulators in terms of guiding policy development regarding corporate transparency of publicly listed firms.