Listed firms need to improve disclosures on cybersecurity and

Top listed Indian companies need an improvement in their disclosures on cybersecurity and sustainability, a study by an advisory firm said Tuesday.

Over 56 per cent of the top 100 listed companies do not provide information regarding cybersecurity or data security risk mitigation in their annual reports, the study by FTI Consulting has said.

Nearly half of the top 100 listed companies provide sustainability reports without international benchmarks such as Global Reporting Initiative standards, it said, which is much higher than the ASEAN standards.

The disclosures report, which is proxy for governance standards at companies, assesses companies on 12 parameters based on disclosed information.

"Greater transparency and better corporate governance can set Indian companies apart from emerging-market peers, which is imperative when companies are competing for global investments and capital," said Amrit Singh Deo, a managing director in the strategic communications segment at FTI Consulting.

The average composite voluntary disclosure score was at 6.3 out of a maximum of 10, the average board quality score was 2.1 out of a maximum of four and the average risk disclosure score was 3.3 out of a maximum of five for the 100 companies.

Nearly a fifth (19 per cent) of the top 100 companies did not have a woman director on their board, it said.

Around 20 per cent of the top companies do not have a convenient whistleblowing mechanism that is mentioned on the company website or annual reports, it said.

Only 16 per cent of the companies provide specific information about their directors' specialist expertise.

From a sectoral perspective, telecom/technology companies have the highest average board quality score, followed by financials and consumer goods/services, natural resources/energy and auto/transport, it said.