Zakiah Muhammaddun Mohamed

Investigation and prosecution of money laundering cases in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine money laundering cases investigated by the Central Bank of Malaysia under the Anti‐Money Laundering and Anti‐Terrorism Financing Act 2001.Design/methodology/approach – This study analyzes the contents of public releases by the enforcement division of the Central Bank for period 2007 to 2011. Analysis of data is carried out based on three categories: the predicate offence, the perpetrators and current status of the cases.Findings – Findings reveal that most cases investigated by the Central Bank relate to sec 4(1) of AMLATFA 2001 and the main predicate offence related to the money laundering charges are on illegal deposit taking. Further it is found that directors of companies are the leading group of people charged under the Act for money laundering. In addition, findings also show that only half of the cases investigated have been charged in court.Research limitations/implications – Data from this research only come from enforcement releases from the Cent...

Internship for accounting undergraduates: comparative insights from stakeholders

Purpose – This study utilises an internship framework to justify the need for feedback from all three groups of internship stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to determine the benefits, skills, and outcomes students gained through internships from the perspective of students, university and employers. Design/methodology/approach – A set of structured questionnaires was used to survey the perceptions of students, university and employers of an accounting internship. A total of 172 responses were analysed. Findings – Findings show that all three groups of stakeholders perceived that students benefit from the internship programme. They also perceived that an internship provides the students with both the technical and soft skills required in the marketplace. However, the mean score and ranking differ among the students, university and employers. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted based on feedback on a single accounting programme. Therefore any characteristics inherent in this...

Risk management disclosure

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of voluntary risk management disclosure (VRMD) on firm value (FV). Design/methodology/approach - – This study uses content analysis approach to collect the VRMD data. FV is represented by three variables: market capitalization, Tobin’s Findings - – Based on the regression analysis, this study found that the VRMD has a positive and significant relationship with FV. Even though the authors hypothesize that damaging voluntary risk management disclosure (DVRMD) will have a negative and significant relationship with FV, the regression analysis shows that the DVRMD is not significantly related to FV. As expected, the relationship between beneficial voluntary risk management disclosure (BVRMD) and FV is positive and significant. The findings provide evidence that should be of interest especially to firms in terms of deciding upon whether to provide or avoid disclosing voluntary risk management information to their stakeholders. Research limitations/implications - – Notwithstanding the critical empirical findings, this study is limited to only focusing on a one year data. The authors acknowledge the fact that findings from a one year data might not be easily generalized to other time periods. The authors believe a stronger argument could be obtained from evidence based on a longitudinal study or data that incorporate multiple economic conditions. The study highlights the fact that risks management information is important to investors in Malaysia when they make their investments decisions. Practical implications - – To date, regulatory bodies emphasize more on financial risk management disclosure through the enforcement of MFRS 7; while non-financial risk information is less emphasized in current guidelines such as Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) (2012) and Recommended Practice Guide 5 (Revised), which only requires firms to disclose information about non-financial risk management without specific details. As this study has provided evidence on the significance of non-financial risk management disclosures in the capital market, this study could be useful for the regulatory bodies to develop more detailed guidelines on non-financial risk management disclosure in the future. Originality/value - – Most of prior literatures are found to focus on the study of factors that influence the VRMD (such as Linsley and Shrives, 2006; Abraham and Cox, 2007; Hassan

Business Ethics: Theory and Practice in an Islamic Context

In Islam the dilemma whether an act is ethical or otherwise may be resolved by referring to the principles that are enunciated in the sources of the Shari’ah (Islamic law). Islamic business ethics, therefore, is based on these sources and provides an essential foundation in the making of ethical business decisions. Islamic ethics is known as akhlaq and together with its core principles which include ikhlas, zuhud, tawakkal, amanah, siddiq and ‘adl guide an individual to always do good and eschew evil since the aim of business is not merely to accumulate wealth but to bring about a just socio-economic order and to ultimately please God. Further, akhlaq and its core principles guide how business disputes are to be resolved and at the same time restore harmony between the disputing parties. In addition, the chapter demonstrates the application of these core principles within the context of an Islamic organisation.

Talent Pool for Global Business Services: Industry-Academia Collaboration

In the rapid development of Global Business Services (GBS) industry, there is a need to nurture quality and capable talent pool. One of the efforts is through industry-academia collaboration in offering of GBS course at the university. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) together with TalentCorp and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) collaboratively developed the first GBS course in Asia. The course consists of three days of intensive seminar and ten weeks of case study project. Both seminar and case study project require direct interaction with GBS firms. The purpose of this paper is to assess the challenges of offering the GBS course faced by its stakeholders. Based on data gathered through survey and roundtable discussions, this paper presents challenges in delivering the course content and achieving the course objectives. Findings suggest that the main challenges are commitment, time management and students’ preparation. Despite these challenges, the course has direct impacts on the stakeholders as the GBS course heightens awareness on GBS industry among future graduates and helps increase their employability in the industry

Detecting financial statement frauds in Malaysia: comparing the abilities of Beneish and Dechow models

Financial statement frauds ( FSF ) are becoming rampant phenomena in current economic and financial landscapes. One of the ways to curb FSF is to detect them early so that preventive measures can be applied. This study aims to empirically investigate the abilities of two financial-based models namely the Beneish’s M-score and Dechow’s F-score, to detect and predict FSF for Malaysian companies. In addition, this study compares the accuracy including the error rates between the two models. Financial data of Malaysian listed companies from 2001 to 2014 are used using a matched pair in this study. The findings reveal that both Beneish and Dechow models are effective in predicting both the fraudulent and non-fraudulent companies with average accuracy at 73.17% and 76.22%, respectively. The results also indicate that Dechow F-score model outperforms the Beneish M-score model in the sensitivity of predicting fraud cases with 73.17% compared to 69.51%. On the efficiency aspect, the Dechow F Score model is found to have lower type II error (26.83%) than Beneish M Score model (30.49%). This finding suggests that Dechow F Score model is a better model that can be used by the regulators to detect FSF among companies in Malaysia.

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.