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The purpose of this study is to extend the extant literature on the relationship between financial risk tolerance (FRT), awareness of Islamic financial principles (AWIF) and positive financial behaviour (FB) on financial satisfaction (FS) of micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) owners by principally investigating the mediating effect of access to Islamic financing (AIF) on these relationships.

A quantitative survey method of data collection through a self-administered questionnaire. The sample of 384 MSME owners was selected in which 208 questionnaires were retrieved and analysed using the partial least square structural equation modelling (SEM).

The result shows that the relationships between FRT and AIF as well as FB and AIF are not significant. However, the AWIF–AIF relationship was found to be positively significant. Moreover, only the mediating effect of AIF on the AWIF–FS relationship was established.

The result implies that AIF could strongly influence the FS of MSME owners, and the AWIF–FS relationship is better explained with sufficient AIF. However, AIF could not mediate the relationships between FRT–FS and FB–FS. Therefore, policymakers and MSME owners should emphasize on AWIF and AIF to enhance FS.

This study pioneers the examination of the mediating influence of AIF on FRT, AWIF, FB and FS of MSME owners in a single framework. Despite the importance of MSME owners on economic sustainability, literature on MSME owners' FS is lacking expressly among developing countries, particularly in Nigeria. This study also revealed new theoretical and practical knowledge by illuminating the mediating effect of AIF on AWIF–FS relationship.

Funding difficulties are particularly compounded for Muslim entrepreneurs in Nigeria, owing to the dominance of interest-based financial institutions prohibited in Islam. Thus, this study aims to explore the role of awareness of Islamic finance principles in ameliorating financial deprivation and financial anxiety to increase access to Islamic financing among Muslim entrepreneurs.

A quantitative survey method of data collection was used to collect data from a total of 208 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) owners based on hand-delivered questionnaires. The data was analyzed using a partial least square structural equation model.

The result supports the direct negative impact of relative financial deprivation and the positive impact of awareness of Islamic finance principles on access to Islamic finance. However, awareness of Islamic finance principles could not moderate any of the direct relationship.

This study implies that financial deprivation is detrimental to access to Islamic finance, but financial anxiety has no significant impact. In addition, policymakers and MSME owners could directly foster access to Islamic finance through awareness of Islamic finance principles, though it could not redirect the negative impact of relative financial deprivation on access to Islamic finance.

The valuable finding here is that the substantial positive impact of awareness of Islamic finance principles on access to Islamic finance is not enough to redirect the negative effect of relative financial deprivation on access to Islamic finance.

The purpose of this study is to establish whether religion (interest) is an impediment to Nigeria’s financial inclusion targets to be achieved by the year 2020.

The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and documentary evidence. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview responses.

It was found that all the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) programs that contribute toward achieving financial inclusion are interest-based ones. Further, none of them provides a non-interest window except Commercial Agricultural Credit Schemes (CACS). Even the CACS is not fully Shari’a-compliant, as it requires further modification. Despite the fact that interest is condemned in Islam, a majority of Muslims have been found to be accessing interest-based funds. Hence, interest is not a factor that hinders the achievement of reducing Nigeria’s financial exclusion rate to 20 per cent by the year 2020.

This study inquired into the programs under the Development Finance Department of the CBN by using semi-structured interviews and documentary evidence. Other programs of the federal government, state governments, NGOs and other private organizations and individuals are not considered. The findings have pointed out the areas to conduct future studies on religion and financial inclusion.

Although Muslims who complained about interest are a minority, there is the need to provide non-interest windows in the programs before they start shunning these programs, as a lot influential Muslim scholars are currently preaching against the interest.

The paper is one of the few studies that support the view that interest does not hinder the achievement of financial inclusion in a Muslim majority country.

The purpose of this paper is to augment the present literature on the relationship between relative financial deprivation (RFD), financial anxiety (FA), access to Islamic financing (AIF) and financial satisfaction (FS) of micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) owners. Principally, the study examines the moderating role of AIF on the RFD–FS and FA–FS relationships.

Quantitative survey approach was used to collect data through self-administered questionnaires from MSME owners. Partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) version 3.2.7 was used to analyse 208 retrieved questionnaires.

The results confirm that the RFD–FS relationship is negatively significant, but the FA–FS relationship is not significant. However, the direct relationship between AIF and FS is positively significant. Conversely, AIF failed to moderate the RFD–FS and FA–FS relationships.

The study specifies that the existence of RFD will decrease the FS of MSME owners, and therefore, RFD should be eliminated at all costs. However, the greater the AIF, the stronger will be the FS of MSME owners. Thus, policymakers and owners of MSMEs should emphasize on AIF to foster FS. Nevertheless, AIF could not redirect the negative impact of RFD and FA on MSME owners’ FS.

This study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the first to examine the moderating role of AIF on the RFD–FS and FA–FS relationships among MSME owners. Notwithstanding the importance of small business owners for economic development, the literature on MSME entrepreneurs FS has been neglected. This study also uncovers new theoretical knowledge by revealing the inability of AIF to alter the RFD–FS and FA–FS relationships.

Some researchers regard discretionary accrual (DA) as one of the factors that drive corporate managers to conduct tax planning (Scott, 2009; Basri and Buchari, 2017). Based on agency theory and positive accounting theory, corporate managers can transform accounting information and manipulate firm earnings to reduce tax liability. There is a lot of research concerning earnings management and tax planning in the developed economy. These studies include Wang and Chen (2012) and Pettersson and Wu (2015). In the emerging economies, it includes Jamei and Khedri (2016), Kurniasih and Sulardi Suranta (2017), Prastiwi (2017), Almashaqbeh et al. (2018), Bayunanda et al. (2018), Rani et al. (2018) and Kałdoński and Jewartowski (2019). It is important to note that none of the research mentioned above has evaluated the impact of real earnings management (REM) on tax planning in Nigeria. While in the developed economy only Kałdoński and Jewartowski (2019) used REM as an explanatory variable, while the majority of studies used DA. Consequently, no study has used REM to moderate the relationship between financial attributes and tax planning. Despite the widespread notion, as well as positive accounting theory, tax planning theory that financial attributes (profitability, leverage, liquidity and firm growth), REM and DA motivate tax planning, previous investigations have produced mixed results (Dwenger and Steiner, 2009; Wang and Chen, 2012; Chen and Zolotoy, 2014; Aghouei and Moradi, 2015; Pettersson and Wu, 2015; Ribeiro, 2015; Chen et al., 2016; Jamei and Khedri, 2016; Ogbeide, 2017; Yuniawati et al., 2017; Chen and Lin, 2017; Firmansyah and Febriyanto, 2018; Prastiwi, 2018; Rani et al., 2018; Kibiya and Aminu, 2019; Kałdoński and Jewartowski, 2019 and Siyanbonla, 2021). This study aims to use REM as a moderator to examine the relationship between financial attributes and tax planning whether it will strengthen or weaken the relationship.

The study examines the impact of financial attributes on the corporate tax planning of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. It also tests for the moderating effect of REM on the relationship between financial attributes and tax planning. Data for the study was sourced from the annual reports of sampled manufacturing firms. The study used the panel data methodology for analysis. The study used fixed effect estimation to interpret the parsimonious model and random effect was used to interpret the moderated model. The study documented that financial leverage has a positive significant influence on the tax planning of the sampled manufacturing firms. While firm growth has a negative significant impact on the tax planning of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. REM has a positive significant impact on tax planning. Also, REM moderate significantly the relationship between financial attributes on one hand and tax planning on the other. The study recommends that firms should go for more debt to take advantage of the tax shield of interest on the debt. Also, firm management should use non-current debt to finance non-current assets and use current debt to finance current assets to avoid the risk of taking over or liquidation. The study also recommends that firm management should engage in intercompany and intracompany transactions by selling their goods to affiliates in countries with low prices and low tax rates. A firm should also overproduce goods to have high production costs and high closing inventory since real earning management significantly reduces tax liabilities by deferring income into a later year.

The study documented that financial leverage has a positive and significant influence on the tax planning of the sampled manufacturing firms. While firm growth has a negative but significant impact on the tax planning of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. REM has a positive and significant impact on tax planning. Also, REM moderate significantly the relationship between financial attributes on one hand and tax planning on the other.

There is a lot of research concerning earnings management and tax planning in the developed economy. These studies include Wang and Chen (2012) and Pettersson and Wu (2015). In the emerging economies, it includes Jamei and Khedri (2016), Kurniasih and Sulardi Suranta (2017), Prastiwi (2017), Almashaqbeh et al. (2018), Bayunanda et al. (2018), Rani et al. (2018) and Kałdoński and Jewartowski (2019). It is important to note that none of the research mentioned above has evaluated the impact of REM on tax planning in Nigeria. While in the developed economy only Kałdoński and Jewartowski (2019) used REM as an explanatory variable, while the majority of studies used DA. Consequently, no study has used REM to moderate the relationship between financial attributes and tax planning.