Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman

Determinants of customers' intention to use Islamic personal financing: The case of Malaysian Islamic banks

Purpose – Islamic banking and finance is an emerging global industry founded on Islamic ethical precepts. Just as in the case of conventional banks, Islamic banks are expected to offer products that consider the needs of their customers. The present study investigates the effects of the following factors: attitude; social influence; religious obligation; government support; and pricing, on the intention to use Islamic personal financing.Design/methodology/approach – The sample comprised of 150 customers of two fully fledged Islamic banks in Malaysia: Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad and Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad. Data were obtained through a face‐to‐face survey using semi‐structured questionnaire. Out of a total of 150 responses, only 136 responses were usable for further analysis. The study used factor analysis, correlation and regression to analyse the data.Findings – The study found three determinants to be significant in influencing the intention to use Islamic personal financing, namely, attitude, soci...

Factors influencing auditor independence: Malaysian loan officers' perceptions

PurposeAuditor independence is fundamental to public confidence in financial reporting and the auditing profession. The study aims to provide further understanding of the factors influencing auditor independence from the perspective of commercial loan officers. Loan officers formed the sample as they are relatively sophisticated financial statement users who would understand the importance of audit report and the issues related to auditor independence.Design/methodology/approachThe study examines the perceptions of commercial loan officers in Malaysian‐owned commercial banks and a total of 86 officers responded to the self‐administered questionnaire.FindingsResults indicate that smaller audit firms, audit firms operating in a higher level of competitive environments, audit firms serving a given client over a longer duration, larger size of audit fees, audit firms providing managerial advisory services, and, the non‐existence of an audit committee, are perceived as having a higher risk of losing independence. Audit firm size appears to be the most important factor that affects the auditor independence, followed by tenure, competition, audit committee, audit firms providing managerial advisory services and size of audit fee.Originality/valueThe paper provides important insights into the factors affecting auditor independence and contributes towards better understanding on the ways to improve the confidence in financial reporting and credibility of the auditing profession.

Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential of Islamic financing schemes for microfinancing purposes. Design/methodology/approach - The paper contends that Islamic finance has an important role to contribute for furthering socio-economic development of the poor and small (micro) entrepreneurs without charging interest (read: Findings - Islamic finance offers various ethical schemes and instruments that can be advanced and adapted for the purpose of microfinance. Comparatively, Research limitations/implications - The paper is only conceptual and does not aim to empirically examine the issues or theories. However, the paper will definitely be useful to develop hypotheses for future research, especially in this relatively new area of Islamic microfinance. Practical implications - The Islamic concepts of microfinance will be of interest especially to many microfinance institutions. The paper will also be a good introduction to practitioners in the microfinance sector to understand the relevance and limitations of Islamic financing schemes. Originality/value - Islamic financing schemes are argued as having moral and ethical attributes that can effectively motivate micro-entrepreneurs to thrive. These schemes, however, require specialized skills in managing risks inherent in the structure of the contracts. In theory, different schemes can be used for different purposes depending on the risk profile of the micro-entrepreneurs.

Productivity growth of zakat institutions in Malaysia: An application of data envelopment analysis

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changes in productivity of zakat institutions in Malaysia from 2003 to 2007. The data consist of a panel of 14 State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) in Malaysia. Efficiency is measured by the Malmquist Index, using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses Malmquist Productivity Index, using a DEA technique. The Malmquist productivity measures are decomposed into two components: efficiency change and technical change index. Findings - The results showed that total factor productivity (TFP) has increased slightly for the whole industry, which is mainly due to the technical change rather than the efficiency change. Further decomposition of the efficiency change into its pure technical and scale efficiency components suggest that the pure efficiency is found to be a more important source of efficiency change than scale efficiency component. Originality/value - This paper investigates the productivity and efficiency of zakat institutions in Malaysia. It will be of value to provide evidence to the policy makers to improve the efficiency of the institutions.

Determinants of Online Waqf Acceptance: An Empirical Investigation

This study explores the factors influencing the acceptance of online waqf, generally termed as Islamic e‐donations in Malaysia. The technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as a baseline theory. Questionnaire survey was conducted. The data of the survey were analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) approach. Results indicate that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived religiosity and amount of information are instrumental in influencing ones decision to perform online waqf. Importantly, the results of this study will extend current knowledge on technology acceptance, and online waqf particularly. The results propagate valuable insights for Islamic banking institutions to introduce online waqf in the future where the factors analyzed could be used as a guideline for better planning and implementation of online waqf. Limitations and future researches are provided.

Management accounting systems in Islamic and conventional financial institutions in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether there is any difference in the management accounting systems (MAS) of conventional and Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approach – The paper was based on a survey of 45 conventional and IFIs listed on the Malaysian Central Banks web site. The respondents were the chief financial officers (CFO). Post‐survey semi‐structured interviews were also conducted with eight respondents to gain further insights into the survey findings.Findings – The survey results indicate that IFIs use MAS information that is broader in scope, more timely, more integrated and more aggregated than conventional financial institutions. The post‐survey interviews provide deeper and contextualised insights into this issue. The interview findings illustrate that IFIs normally develop and adopt an integrated accounting and enterprise system. Within this comprehensive enterprise system, the management accounting function is integrated with other ...

Consumer attitude and preference in the Islamic mortgage sector: a study of Malaysian consumers

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of service quality, product choice and Islamic debt policy on consumer attitude within the context of Islamic mortgage sector in Malaysia. The present study also examines the effect of attitudinal-behaviour on consumer preference towards preference of Islamic mortgage selection. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on questionnaire survey. Data are collected using sample from customers of Islamic banks in Malaysia. The study collects 351 respondents. Data are analysed using partial least squares (PLS). Findings The results indicate that service quality, product choice and Islamic debt policy significantly influence consumer attitude, in turn, affecting the Islamic home financing preference. Consumer attitude also mediates the effects of service quality, product choice and Islamic debt policy on the Islamic home financing preference. Research limitations/implications Several limitations warrant future research. First, this study considers only a specific user group in one public university. Second, this study does not consider attitude as a moderator. Third, this study suffers from the limited number of factors used. These limitations, however, provide directions for future research. Practical implications Our results will add value to the consumer preference topic for Islamic home financing literature. The present study provides bank managers with valuable insights into better planning of Islamic home financing services in Malaysia. Originality/value This study is a pioneering effort at exploring consumer attitude and preference from the context of Islamic mortgage sector in Malaysia. The use of PLS analysis provides another important contribution to the literature in this area.

Issues on the application of IFRS9 and fair value measurement for Islamic financial instruments

Purpose This paper aims to examine some issues in IFRS9 with regards to classification and measurement of Islamic financial assets. In addition, the paper discusses the Shariah concerns on the use of fair value to measure financial assets. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts qualitative method via the study of documents and textual analysis of Shariah opinions of scholars and relevant accounting standards. Findings The paper found that the classification and measurement of equity-based Islamic financial assets do not fit into the “default” classification category of amortised cost, as the future cash flow receivable does not constitute solely the payment of principal and interest (fixed rate payment). With regards to fair value measurement, Shariah concern arises during the adoption of fair value at Level 2 (reference of asset values from input other than quoted prices in active markets) and Level 3 (use of discounted cash flow method to arrive to asset valuation) because of the existence of in uncertainty or gharar as compared to Level 1 (fair value referred to quoted prices of similar assets). Practical implications Findings of the paper provide a starting point for a debate and extensive research on issues related to classification and measurement of Islamic financial assets and the use of fair value as a method of subsequent revaluation of Islamic financial assets. The Shariah analysis in the paper is useful for International Accounting Standard Board to engage with Islamic financial institutions and local accounting standard setters to reflect the unique nature of Shariah-compliant financial instruments. The paper serves as a basis to devise technical solutions to address accounting and reporting issues of Islamic financial instruments. Originality/value The paper offers Shariah analysis on the issue of classification, measurement and impairment model for Islamic financial assets. The paper is considered as the first paper that examines areas of possible tensions when applying IFRS9 to the accounting of Islamic financial assets. In addition, the paper has contributed to the literature in Islamic accounting and auditing.