Mustafa Mohd Hanefah

Determinants of financial and environmental disclosures through the internet by Malaysian companies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the voluntary financial and environmental disclosures through the internet can be explained by the same determinants as in conventional reporting. Specifically, this paper examines the relationship between the extent of financial and environmental disclosures on the internet and six variables, namely, ethnicity of chief executive officer (CEO), leverage, level of technology, existence of dominant personalities, profitability, and firm size. Design/methodology/approach - Six hypotheses were tested using data collected from 201 Malaysian listed companies on the Bursa Malaysias Main and Second Boards for the financial year 2005. A regression model is utilized to analyze the results of this paper and this is in tandem with the previous studies. Findings - The results indicate that level of technology, ethnicity of CEO and firm size are determinants of both internet financial and environmental disclosures. However, the existence of a dominant personality is found to negatively affect the level of financial disclosures but not environmental disclosures. The other variables did not show any significant relationship with either financial or environmental disclosures. Originality/value - This paper investigates whether internet financial and environmental disclosures can be explained by the same determinants used in other similar studies. The results indicate that only level of technology, ethnicity of CEO and firm size are found to be significant for both internet financial and environmental disclosures.

Adoption of AAOIFI accounting standards by Islamic banks of Bahrain

Purpose - – The objective of this paper is to determine the level of compliance with Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) accounting standards by Islamic banks of Bahrain. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper is based on diffusion of innovation theory whereby the perceived relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability factors are expected to influence the level of compliance with AAOIFI accounting standards. Findings - – The findings indicate that Islamic banks of Bahrain are in full convergence with AAOIFI accounting standards. Research limitations/implications - – This research, just like many other studies, faces data limitations. Sample size employed for this study contains only the accountants in Islamic banks of Bahrain. Originality/value - – The results of this paper are expected to serve as a guide to the regulatory bodies and the setter of accounting standards for Islamic financial institutions (IFIs).

Board diversity and corporate social responsibility in Jordan

Purpose - This study aims to investigate the impact of board diversity characteristics, namely, independence, gender, age and nationality of directors on the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures. Design/methodology/approach - Content analysis was used to determine CSR disclosure. This study used panel data analysis to investigate the influence of board diversity characteristics on CSR disclosures. Findings - Panel data analysis show that the level of CSR disclosure has increased over the period of study. Results also reveal a positive and significant association between the level of CSR disclosure and board diversity variables. Research limitations/implications - This study examined only companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange. Therefore, the generalisation of the results might be limited to the listed companies only. Practical implications - Findings are relevant to policymakers, professional organisations and practitioners in Jordan and in other Arab countries. Social implications - The role of women in the boardroom is important to ensure more CSR activities by the listed companies. Jordan being a Muslim country should take the initiative to introduce laws to increase the number of women to the board. Originality/value - This study offers significant contributions to existing CSR literature in Jordan and in other Arab countries by introducing female directors. Findings are important to policymakers. They should implement quotas for women in the boardroom, and adopting such a policy will increase the participation of women in the decision-making process of the companies and reduce gender bias.

The association between environmental disclosure and financial disclosure on the internet by Malaysian listed companies

The rapid growth of internet technology has made it possible for companies to directly and instantly disclose their financial and non-financial information to fulfil user needs worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether there is any association between the extent of internet financial disclosure (IFD) and the extent of internet environmental disclosure (IED) by Malaysian listed companies. The data from 194 companies were used as a sample for this study. Linear regression analysis was conducted and results show that there is a significant positive relationship between the extent of IED and the extent of IFD. The finding also indicates that the disclosure of financial and environmental information on the internet by Malaysian listed companies has improved; however, there is still much room for improvement especially in areas of environmental disclosures.