This paper aims to identify the attributes of Malaysian family-controlled companies towards voluntary disclosure reporting. The authors investigate the family’s tradition, culture, and principles that can influence the family managers’ decision for voluntary disclosure reporting. This study utilises a two-pronged research approach. A semi-structured interview was used to gather thematic data to identify the family’s attributes, and later, the attributes were examined with the level of voluntary disclosure segments in the companies’ annual reports using correlation analysis. This paper draws from the emerging consensus that listed family-controlled companies provide less voluntary disclosure reporting compared to other non-family-controlled listed companies. This study validates and demonstrates how family characteristics influence the quantity of voluntary disclosure practices in a way that protects the socio-emotional wealth (SEW) of the organisation. The paper's principal implication is that family characteristics can affect and positively correlate with the degree of voluntary disclosure and decision-making, providing practical insights for family-controlled companies.