Advancing SDG No 16 via Corporate Governance Disclosure: Evidence from Indonesian and Malaysian Fintech Companies’ Websites

Abstract

The aims of this paper are: (1) to examine the extent of corporate governance disclosure on the websites of Indonesian and Malaysian FinTech companies using the coercive isomorphism tenet, and (2) to determine whether variation in the extent of corporate governance disclosure is influenced by the country and type of FinTech services. The websites of 148 Indonesian and 159 Malaysian corporations were subjected to content analysis using a Modified Corporate Governance Disclosure Index (MoCGOvDi). The MoCGovDi was constructed using the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard and previous research. The level of corporate governance disclosure is higher among Malaysian FinTech companies, possibly due to stronger coercive pressure by government regulation in Malaysia. Overall, the level of corporate governance disclosure is low in both countries (7 and 9 items out of 50 total items for Indonesia and Malaysia, respectively), which may delay the achievement of SDG No 16. Several implications are provided in this paper to advocate the corporate governance disclosure of FinTech companies in Indonesia and Malaysia to achieve SDG No 16.