Disclosure of Corporate Philanthropy Information in the Annual Reports of Malaysian Public Companies

The objective of this study was to investigate the extent of disclosure on corporate philanthropy information that is included in the annual reports of Malaysian public companies. A content analysis was performed to analyse the content of 2020’s annual reports of 80 publicly traded companies. The Modified Corporate Philanthropy Disclosure Index, which is made up of fifty different disclosure items, was developed to measure the extent of corporate philanthropy information disclosed by Malaysian public listed businesses in their annual reports is evaluated. In the annual reports of Malaysian public businesses, there was disclosure amounting to an average of 31% of the extent of corporate philanthropy information for the year 2020. There are two key parts to the Modified Corporate Philanthropy Disclosure Index (MoCoPDi) checklist: the type of corporate philanthropy and the Governance of corporate philanthropy. The results showed that the type of corporate philanthropy was the most common type of information disclosed by public listed companies, while governance of corporate philanthropy groups was the least information disclosed by the public listed companies. The results of this study have favourable implications for the government and policymakers of Malaysia, presenting them with the chance to alter the existing regulations surrounding corporate philanthropy disclosure by corporations in Malaysia. This study proposed that Malaysian companies have the potential to derive advantages by expanding the extent of corporate philanthropy information disclosure to different stakeholders. This study highlights the extent of corporate philanthropy disclosure by listed Malaysian companies in the year 2020. This study enhances the Modified Corporate Philanthropy Disclosure Index by formulating guidelines for corporate philanthropy reporting to promote accountability and reduce “greenwashing†.