Influence of Corporate Governance on Sustainability Disclosure in Bangladesh

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the relationship between an organization’s corporate governance and sustainability disclosure in Bangladesh. The study further designates sustainability reporting disclosure practices. The study used content scrutiny of the yearly statement of 175 companies listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) for the year 2018, applying determinants count procedure and ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis. Findings revealed that the level of sustainability reported among the listed companies in Bangladesh is deficient. Board independence and audit independence have a positive relationship with sustainability reports, but the female members in the board, audit committee size, and corporate governance compliance index have a negative relationship with sustainability as reporting. The board size of the companies is not a significant determinant of sustainability reported. The use of content analysis method for the measurement of sustainability report considering the quantity and ignoring the quality of disclosure, data consideration for only one year may contain subjectivity matter from the researcher’s perspective. Future research should be conducted based on content analysis with a mixed method to increase the quality. The findings of this study guided the essentials for step-up and the pursuance of corporate governance on sustainability exposure. This study contributes to works of literature on the association of corporate governance with sustainability disclosure.