Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a hot topic for discussion in the
recent corporate literature. There are lot of studies have been carried out in order to
identify the main element that influences the CSR disclosure among organizations
which would help to improve the overall business performance. In this research study,
the main purpose is to determine the level of CSR disclosure in Malaysian Public
Listed Companies (PLCs) particularly in manufacturing industry. The other purpose
of this study is to examine the relationship of the board characteristics namely board
size, board independence and board diversity with CSR disclosure as well as to find
out which element of these board characteristics that influences CSR disclosure
among Malaysian PLCs the most. Based on the findings, there was moderate level of
CSR disclosure in Malaysian PLCs meanwhile, the board independence is the main
element that influences CSR disclosure and reporting. This study was conducted by
using secondary data collection whereby the information is extracted from the Annual
Report of PLCs which are listed in the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. The researcher
hope that this study will be able to assist the corporations to focus on improving their
board characteristics as the effective way to enhance the CSR disclosure and reporting
requirements.
