The Strategic Attributes of Company Secretaries: Examining Their Role in Enhancing Corporate Governance in Malaysian Public Listed Companies

Corporate governance effectiveness is crucial for ensuring financial transparency, regulatory compliance, and ethical decision-making. While prior research has extensively examined the roles of directors, Chief Executive Officers, and auditors, the contributions of company secretaries remain largely underexplored. This study explores the attributes of company secretaries in Malaysian public listed companies, categorising their attributes into technical, commercial, and social dimensions. Using an exploratory approach, this study examines data from 414 company secretaries across 433 non-financial public listed companies in Malaysia for the year 2019, sourced from Bursa Malaysia and MyCOID. The findings reveal that most company secretaries possess strong secretarial competencies and international exposure, but lack accounting, finance, and legal expertise. In terms of commercial attributes, few company secretaries hold dual executive roles, board memberships, or equity stakes, indicating a limited strategic influence in financial decision-making. Socially, most company secretaries serve in a single firm and are appointed externally, suggesting a focus on compliance rather than internal leadership development. This study highlights the need for policy reforms, including mandatory training in financial and legal literacy, expanding company secretaries’ roles in investor relations, and encouraging their involvement in legal advisory functions. The findings contribute to governance literature by emphasising the evolving role of company secretaries and providing insights for regulators, policymakers, and corporate boards to enhance governance effectiveness.