Yusuf Karbhari

Impact of ISO 9000 registration on company performance: Evidence from Malaysia

This study investigates the determinants of corporate performance and evaluates whether ISO 9000 registration impacts corporate performance in a sample of Malaysian listed companies. A performance evaluation model was developed on the basis of four predictor variables that include return on sales (ROS), lender security, free cash flow and economic value added (EVA). The results indicate that the ROS and EVA do determine the performance of the Malaysian listed companies. We also find association between ISO 9000 registration and financial performance in the sampled companies.

Interaction between compulsory and voluntary disclosure in Saudi Arabian corporate annual reports

This study investigates the interaction between the compulsory and voluntary disclosures in the annual reports of Saudi Arabian companies. The sample comprises both listed and non‐listed companies. The data were analyzed by constructing three separate disclosure indices relating to mandatory disclosure, voluntary disclosure that closely relates to mandatory disclosure and voluntary disclosure that is not closely related to mandatory disclosure. The results reveal that there is a significant, positive correlation between mandatory disclosure and voluntary disclosure related to the mandatory disclosure index. The study also reports a correlation between voluntary disclosure and the other two indices is found to be weak and insignificant. These weak relationships suggest an absence of effective co‐ordination between the parties involved in preparing the annual report. The analysis also reveals no clear pattern of relationships to exist between mandatory disclosure and the types of disclosure in the different industrial sectors examined in this study. The non‐correlation between these groups of disclosure may suggest low co‐ordination between the board of directors and the management in writing parts of the annual report.

Annual corporate information: importance and use in Saudi Arabia

This study examines the perceptions of the users of annual corporate reports in Saudi Arabia. The focus is on the use and importance of the seven different sources of corporate information contained in Saudi annual reports. This includes the board of directors report, the auditors report, the balance sheet, the income statement, the statement of retained earnings, cash flow statements and the notes to the financial statements. Our sample comprises five major user groups, namely individual investors, institutional investors, creditors, government officials, and financial analysts. In comparison with previous research efforts elsewhere around the world, this study found that the balance sheet and the income statement are the most important sections of the annual report to most of the Saudi users’ groups. The board of directors’ report was found to be the least popular. As far as the cash flow statement is concerned, the individual investors were found to place much less importance to this statement, a finding that is similar to what has been reported in previous literature about investor behaviour in other areas of the world.

Resource Accounting and Executive Agencies

Executive agencies have had several years’ experience of the introduction and development of accruals based accounting systems. Senior agency managers therefore provide an authoritative source of information on the problems that could follow from introducing it more widely across government. A survey of senior managers revealed that, despite major improvements in accounting information systems, agencies still face difficulties in implementing accruals accounting. Government departments also seem unlikely to accept easily the switch from cash accounting to accruals accounting without extensive training. The effort and resources required for this should not be underestimated.

Users’ perception of corporate information in Saudi Arabia: An empirical analysis

This study examines the perceptions of the users of eight different sources of corporate information available in Saudi Arabia. The sources of information includes annual corporate reports, interim reports, specialists advice, friend’s advice, newspapers and magazines, specialised publications, direct information from companies and market rumours. Our sample comprises of five major user groups, namely individual investors, institutional investors, creditors, governmental officials, and financial analysts. The study reveals that the corporate annual report was the most important source of corporate information to all of the participating user groups. Individual investors were found to attach lower importance to obtaining information directly from companies than the other groups in our sample. The fact that creditors valued direct information from companies more importantly than the other groups is perhaps because creditors in Saudi Arabia are in a much stronger position to demand formal information from companies.

An Empirical Investigation into the Importance, Use, and Technicality of Saudi Annual Corporate Information

Abstract This study examines the perceptions of the users of annual corporate reports in Saudi Arabia. The focus is on the use, importance, and technicality of the different sources of corporate information contained in Saudi annual reports. Our sample comprises five major user groups, namely individual investors, institutional investors, creditors, government officials, and financial analysts. In comparison with previous research efforts elsewhere around the world, this study found that the balance sheet and the income statement are the most important sections of the annual report to most of the Saudi users’ groups. The board of directors’ report was found to be the least popular. Individual investors were found to place much less importance on the cash flow statement, a finding that is similar to what has been reported in previous literature. Concerning the technicality of the language of Saudi annual corporate information, individual investors indicated that the language of most of the sections of the annual reports is fairly complicated. Although our findings do not indicate a serious problem with the technicality of the language of the reports sections for most of the user groups, a more simplified report would be beneficial to the individual investors.

Company Financial Performance and ISO 9000 Registration: Evidence from Malaysia

This study investigates factors, including ISO 9000 registration, that impact on corporate performance, in a sample of Malaysian companies. To achieve this objective, the annual reports of 162 companies (81 ISO 9000 accredited companies and 81 non-ISO accredited companies) were collected and a performance evaluation model was estimated. The results of the analysis revealed that factors such as ISO 9000 registration, return on assets (ROA), economic value added (EVA) and industrial category (INDCAT) determine corporate performance.

Management and Accounting Developments in Executive Agencies

The executive agency programme has moved ahead rapidly since its introduction in 1988 and by 1996 over 70% of all civil servants were working under executive agency conditions. This has resulted in a major change in the structure of the civil service and in the management of the activities of central government. The question that then emerges concerns the benefits, if any, that these changes have brought about. This paper reports the results of a survey of a sample of senior managers in executive agencies. The survey attempted to ascertain the extent to which agencification was felt to have led to increases in autonomy and freedom to manage and also to obtain the views of managers on a range of issues including changes in operational effectiveness and quality of service delivery. These, after all, are some of the key measures of the success or otherwise of the agencification programme. The survey also examined changes in specific management accounting practices and a broad overview of the findings is provided in the paper. In general, it seems that the senior managers of executive agencies do feel that agencification has achieved many of the benefits hoped for and that is has brought about changes and improvements in management and management accounting practices.

The Impact of Selected Corporate Governance Programmes to Auditor Independence: Some Evidence from Malaysia

Corporate governance is essential for establishing an attractive investment climate characterised by competitive companies and an efficient capital market. This paper examines the impact of four corporate governance programmes to perceived auditor independence from the perspective of Malaysian auditors, loan officers and senior managers of public listed companies. Questionnaire and interview surveys were employed to seek the respondents perceptions on these issues. It is found that auditor independence would be safeguarded on the following issues: the compliance with the Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) of the Malaysian Accounting Standard Board (MASB) was legally mandated, the establishment of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG), the establishment of the Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group (MSWG) and the implementation of mandatory director accreditation training programme (MDATP).

Audit Committee and Auditor Independence: Some Evidence from Malaysia

This paper investigate the impact of five issues on audit committee such as active audit committee, compulsory audit committee reports, audit committee approves audit fees, audit committee reviews audit fees, audit committee comprised of majority independent and non-executive directors, to auditor independence. To achieve the research objective, this study was undertaken in two stages: the first stage involved the use of a postal questionnaire survey and the second stage employed interview survey. The population selected for this study consists of auditors, loan officers and senior managers of Malaysian public listed companies. The questionnaire survey revealed that the majority of the respondents agreed that auditor independence would be safeguarded by the presence of an active audit committee, if it was compulsory to include an audit committee report in the annual report, if the audit committee was responsible for approving and reviewing audit fees, and if the majority of audit committee members were independent and non-executive. It is found that the interview survey confirmed the questionnaire surveys findings. This indicates that the respondents have faith in the existence of audit committees in the Malaysian capital market, which would enhance communication between auditors and management.