Noradiva Hamzah

A Case Study of Balanced Scorecard Implementation in a Malaysian Company

ABSTRACT The balanced scorecard (BSC) has attracted considerable interest among organizations seeking to improve the implementation of their strategy. Nevertheless, the success of BSC initiatives is far from certain. Some researchers argue that the BSC has its theoretical roots in management by objective (MBO). Others argue that the BSC was probably inspired by the Tableau De Bord that has been used by French companies since the 1930s. All these techniques seek to provide organizations with a basis for aligning activities and objectives. Some researchers are beginning to raise questions about BSCs effectiveness. Basing their argument on the failure of MBO and performance management programs, they argue that the BSC may also encounter similar problems. Among other things, it is argued that the effective implementation of the BSC requires the presence of human relations norms. Studies on Malaysian culture indicate that this may be more difficult to develop in Malaysian organizations. Certain characteristics of Malaysian culture may impede the development of human relations norms. Other researchers argue that there are inherent weaknesses in the BSC concept itself. These weaknesses will limit the usefulness of the BSC. This study presents the findings of a study on BSC implementation in a Malaysian telecommunication company. The findings provide some support for the concerns raised about the problems and limitations of the BSC.

Accounting outsourcing turnback: process and issues

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide understanding on the process of accounting outsourcing turnback from the clients perspective. The aim is to understand the issues faced by clients during turnback process, and provide recommendations to resolve them.Design/methodology/approach – This study adopts a qualitative interpretive case study approach. Data were collected based on documentation, archival records, direct observation, and interviews to allow for triangulation.Findings – This study provides empirical evidence of accounting outsourcing turnback process. Some of the issues faced by clients include lack of management support, limited financial and human resources, and uncooperative vendors.Research limitations/implications – Theoretically, this study extends Elliots model by providing empirical evidence on process, identifying issues, and discussing recommendations on accounting outsourcing turnback. The limitation is the use of a single case study of a small company in Malaysia.Practi...

Mitigating risks in a shared service relationship: the case of a Malaysian bank

Purpose - A shared service (SS) arrangement involves an intra-firm interrelationship, since the SS centre (SSC), operated as an independent business unit, provides services to clients who are other independent business units in the same company group. The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding of risks and controls used in mitigating SS risks. Design/methodology/approach - This study adopts a qualitative approach using a case study of a SSC in a bank group in Malaysia. The risks and control framework developed by Das and Teng was used to analyse the appropriate control mechanisms for mitigating internal outsourcing risks, namely relational risk and performance risk. Findings - The main relational risk identified is the possibility of opportunistic behaviour. However, this risk could be mitigated through social control especially when both parties share norms and values. Performance risks in SSC are mainly related to unsatisfactory services in terms of incomplete information, system errors and human mistakes. These risks could be mitigated using either behaviour control or output control. Behaviour control can be exercised through performance reporting, while output control can be achieved through key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLA). Research limitations/implications - This study is limited to a single case study of a SSC with a certain type of arrangement and discusses business process outsourcing (BPO) in general. Future research may examine cases with other SS arrangements, detailed examination of each BPO and incorporate multi-perspective views from both SSC and their clients. Issues concerning changes in control in the evolving situation of SSC and bargaining power and trust in mitigating SSC risks are also worth exploring. Practical implications - The studys findings enable practitioners to draw insights to develop effective control strategies to mitigate risks in intra-organizational relationships such as SSC. Originality/value - The paper adds to our knowledge of control mechanisms for mitigating risks in the SS relationship, which is a relatively new concept in the literature.

Accounting outsourcing practices in Malaysia

Purpose – Firms in Malaysia are in an enviable position in view of Malaysias standing as a leading outsourcing hub in the region. Despite that, little is known about the accounting outsourcing practices, risks and control in Malaysia. This paper aims to explore the practices, decisions, processes and perception of risks and control in accounting outsourcing.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is written based on survey data which were collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaires were directed to the head of the accounts and finance department of each company. A total of 51 companies participated in this study and approximately 47.1 percent of the respondents are involved in accounting outsourcing.Findings – Findings show that the most common outsourcing activities are financial reporting and auditing while the main reasons to outsource are quality service, core competencies and scale economies. The decision to outsource accounting services is related to the type of industry and expertise in t...

Transaction costs in finance and accounting offshore outsourcing: a case of Malaysia

Purpose – Finance and accounting (FA) offshore outsourcing is a growing trend involving a relocation of business processes to Asia but only few studies focus on understanding the issues that underlie the relocation of FA services. This paper aims to provide understanding of transaction costs economics (TCE) issues in FA offshore outsourcing using a case study of the Malaysia outsourcing industry which is growing and experiencing significant change.Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a qualitative case study approach. Interviews cover several foreign firms, which are based in Malaysia and involved in FA offshore outsourcing services worldwide. Interviews also include related regulatory bodies in Malaysia.Findings – Using TCE and management control theoretical framework, findings indicate issues and challenges faced by the firms and the need for contract management skills to mitigate the issues.Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to a broad discussion of FA offshore outsourci...

Linking business strategy and knowledge management practices: case studies of Malaysian firms

The objectives of this study are to identify knowledge management practices used by organisations to exploit their intellectual capital, and to explain the relationship between business strategy and knowledge management practices. Data were obtained from case studies of 11 organisations in four industries. Within-case analysis and cross-case analysis were carried out in analysing the data. The study reveals that the development of the three categories of intellectual capital by an organisation is contingent upon the type of strategy employed by that organisation. The finding also demonstrates that the type of business strategy employed by organisation affects knowledge management practices of the organisation.

Management control in accounting outsourcing services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence of accounting outsourcing practices in Malaysia and the management control strategies undertaken by these practising firms to mitigate inherent risks.Design /methodology/approach – This study employs survey methodology using structured questionnaires and case studies using interviews. A total of 51 companies responded to the questionnaires and two companies participated in the interview.Findings – The survey data revealed that the primary reason for engaging in accounting outsourcing was to gain quality accounting service from the experts. With regard to management control strategies, it was shown that respondents place high emphasis of behavior, output and social controls. Further investigation using case studies involving a vendor and client companies reveal that the control mechanisms involved were stated in the outsourcing contract, namely the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and penalties. Informal controls were also used in both case...

Intellectual Capital Management Practices in Malaysian Private Hospitals

Intellectual capital has emerged as an indispensable element for enhancing productivity and sustaining performance of organizations in this knowledge-based economy. In the healthcare industry, intellectual capital forms the basis for continuing innovation and subsequent performance. Hence, the management of hospitals needs sound intellectual capital management in order to ensure sustainability. Moreover, the activities of hospitals generally depend more on intangible resources such as clinical skills, knowledge, expertise, experiences, competencies, doctor-patient relation, doctors’ and hospital’s reputation rather than physical resources like physical assets. For this study, Malaysian private hospitals were selected as sample to investigate how hospitals extract the value of their intangible capital. This study aims at providing empirical evidence on the intellectual capital management practices in Malaysian private hospitals. Data was collected from a series of interviews with representatives from five private hospitals in Malaysia. Cross-case study analysis was carried out in analysing the data collected to develop patterns found in the evidence. The study reveals that the intellectual capital management in hospital industry is quite unique especially in the human capital management and the relational capital management. For human capital management, clinical staffs’ competencies are crucial. Interestingly, the study found that physicians are often not the direct employees of the hospitals. This leads to a unique relationship between the hospital and the physicians. Meanwhile for the relational capital management, this study also reveals that the unique relationship that exists between the physicians and patients leads to the structural capital of the hospitals which may influence the hospitals’ reputations and good names.

Knowledge management in offshore accounting outsourcing

This paper aim to identify and understand the challenges that have to be faced by a small and medium offshore accounting outsourcing provider implementing knowledge management (KM). This study used interpretive in-depth single case study in order to understand the challenges and innovation in implementing the KM in company. Findings show that the middle manager plays an important role in managing challenge to implement KM by create innovations. This study will contribute to further understand the KM implementation in a small and medium company especially in offshore accounting outsourcing provider.

Atarek Kamil Ibrahim & Co. Chartered Accountants

Atarek Kamil Ibrahim & Co. Chartered Accountants (hereafter referred to as AKI) is a public accounting firm named after its founder Tuan Haji Atarek Kamil Ibrahim (hereafter referred to as Atarek). The firm offers a wide range of services to its customers since its establishment in 1989. The head office of AKI is in Kuala Lumpur and it has branches in Melaka, Johor Bahru, Ipoh, Kuala Terrengganu, Kota Baru, Kuching, Miri and Kota Kinabalu. The partners of AKI are planning to expand the company by getting more partners from outside to join AKI. They planned to use a different name, ASNAF Chartered Accountants, from 2009 onwards to replace AKI. They initiated the formation of ASNAF (Association of ASEAN Accounting Firms) to propel AKI into the international scene. Currently ASNAF has 8 members comprising accounting firms from Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia. While the move to expand and rebrand AKI appears to be the only way forward for the company, Atarek must really evaluate whether such move is wise and benefits him and his staff. He must critically assess AKIs current strengths and weaknesses and possible implication of his decisions. He must consider all the other alternatives that he will forgo which include his dream of becoming the first Islamic public accounting firm in the region. The case will reveal that AKI is still plagued with the common problem of small and medium sized public accounting firms in Malaysia that is short of manpower. AKI is also currently in the midst of organizing its control structures among its branches.