Syed Ahmed Salman, Hafiz Majdi Ab. Rashid and Sheila Nu Nu Htay
Insurance is a modern risk-management tool. Although the idea is novel, its practice is not free of interest, uncertainty and elements of gambling. Takaful has been introduced as…
Abstract
Purpose
Insurance is a modern risk-management tool. Although the idea is novel, its practice is not free of interest, uncertainty and elements of gambling. Takaful has been introduced as an alternative to modern insurance. India has an established insurance industry, and although the country has the second largest Muslim population in the world, takaful has not been introduced there. Moreover, no research has examined how internal forces affect policy-holders to buy new insurance products such as takaful in India. This study aims to examine whether internal factors influence individual insurance policy-holders to open up to takaful. As internal factors reflect the innovative nature of policy-holders, this paper seeks to determine whether there is significant difference in the innovative nature of two independent sample groups (e.g. between Muslims and non-Muslims) in participating in takaful.
Design/methodology/approach
New product adoption theory is used in developing the hypotheses and a questionnaire. Snowball sampling method is used in this survey, with a sample size of 909 respondents, including Muslim and non-Muslim policy-holders. The internal forces that encourage potential policy-holders to participate in takaful is the independent variable here, while the respondents’ actual willingness to participate in takaful is the dependent variable. Religion and level of education are used as control variables, and regression and T-tests are performed to analyze the data.
Findings
Results show that the internal factors have significant impact at 1 per cent on the acceptance of takaful by policy-holders. There is also a significant difference in the innovative nature between Muslims and non-Muslims. Mean values from the T-test show that Muslims are more innovative than non-Muslims in India, offering a good sign for India to start offering takaful, as Muslims could be the core customer base.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on internal factors influencing individual policy-holders’ willingness to participate in takaful. The findings can be the starting point for future research exploring the influence of external factors on such willingness to participate with potential benefits to local authorities, investors, insurance companies and the public in India.
Originality/value
This study provides crucial information about the demand side of takaful in India. The innovative nature of Indian policy-holders signals positive potential for operators to offer takaful in India and to concerned regulatory bodies to expedite its introduction to the market.
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Syed Musa Alhabshi, Hafiz Majdi Ab Rashid, Sharifah Khadijah Syed Agil and Mezbah Uddin Ahmed
This paper aims to address the financial reporting dimensions of intangible assets with specific reference to International Accounting Standards (IAS) 38 as well as relevant…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address the financial reporting dimensions of intangible assets with specific reference to International Accounting Standards (IAS) 38 as well as relevant International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS 38 exclusion) that are embedded within intangible assets. These have implications for Islamic financial assets with identifiable and measurable intangible components.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses the qualitative research method by way of interviews followed by focus group discussions with professional accountants/accounting academics and Sharīʿah scholars/advisors from academia, the industry and regulatory bodies. Analysis of relevant literature is made to understand the subject matter and Sharīʿah-related issues.
Findings
The study observes that the accounting dimensions of tangible assets are generally consistent with Sharīʿah requirements. However, significant variation arises when the dimensions of intangible assets are represented in financial assets.
Research limitations/implications
The paper presents an exploratory in-depth analysis within the context of intangible assets as specified in IAS 38.
Originality/value
The paper elucidates the comparative accounting dimensions and Sharīʿah requirements in reporting financial assets.
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Muslim Har Sani Mohamad, Hafiz Majdi Abdul Rashid and Fekri Ali Mohammed Shawtari
As the major shareholder, in 2004, the Malaysian Government embarked on the transformation initiative of the Government Linked Companies (GLCs). One of the main initiatives was to…
Abstract
Purpose
As the major shareholder, in 2004, the Malaysian Government embarked on the transformation initiative of the Government Linked Companies (GLCs). One of the main initiatives was to enhance board effectiveness through its Green Book. Soon after, the progress performance review revealed that the GLCs reported improved earnings. Such drastic performance turnarounds triggered the question as to whether earnings quality is at stake. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the tightening of corporate governance mechanisms on earnings management (EM) activities of the GLCs.
Design/methodology/approach
The earnings data for two periods (pre‐ and post‐transformation) were collected and tested to determine whether the GLCs experienced any improvement of board monitoring role in curbing EM activities in the post‐transformation period.
Findings
The main findings show that there is an increase of EM activities in the post‐transformation policy. Furthermore, the study also reveals that none of the corporate governance mechanisms has much impact on curbing activities, except for board meetings and leadership structure in the post‐transformation period. The board meetings and separation of chairman and chief executive officers in the companies were shown to only have a negative impact on EM activities in the post‐transformation period. Although the study has shown a positive preliminary impact from tightening the corporate governance of the GLCs, weak earnings quality might undermine the efforts to sustain such a transformation.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the limited body of literature concerning the impact of corporate governance on earnings management by examining such impact using Government Linked Companies in Malaysia after introducing the transformation programme.