Sizeable Group AFARe Seminar

As per Friday afternoon, the total number of regitered participants for our International Conference for Forensic Accounting & Financial Criminology stood at 190and counting. The conference will be held on 16-17 June at the Kuala Lumpur Tower. A one-day PhD colloqium will be held prior to the conference on 15th June 2009.

Another Round of FRGS Evaluation

The next fundamental research grant scheme (FRGS)proposal evaluation will be held in Port Dickson on 2-5 June 2009. ARI had submitted twelve new applications and we hope we will get them Insyaallah. Just like the last three years, I have been appointed as one of the assessors for the Social Science group.

Another Blog Class

Since the examination meeting finished earlier than scheduled, the lecturers had requested for Puan Intan Salwani to conduct another blog class on Friday afternoon. It was a success. Program leaders can actually use blogs to communicate more effectively with their students.

Meeting of Program Leaders

ARI gave a briefing to program leaders who were at the faculty today. We discussed about research spin-offs and the need to strategize on research and publication for the sake of their career. Insyaallah ARI will be going round visiting branch campuses to promote ARI to branch lecturers.

33 Articles for Prof Binshan Workshop.....

What appeared to be so "slow coming", suddenly the number of papers we received from workshop participants totalled 33 today. I can only conclude that if we really put our heart to it, we can produce. Great job everyone. Hopefully we are able to work and rework on the papers and publish them in Scopus & ISI journals.

Congratulations Graduate Fellow Hesri

Congratulations Mr Hesri Din, one of ARI's graduate fellows for his graduation. Hesri was confered with the Master in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology. The conferment was graced by the YMM Tuanku Agong yesterday. His thesis entitled "The Use Of Fraud Risk Red Flags By Auditors To Detect Financial Criminology - Malaysian Evidence" has been quite instrumental and contributes significantly to the accounting profession. With the assistance received from Professor Glen Moyes, Texas, we have been able to submit our articles for major journal publications in the USA. Congratulation again Hesri, we are very proud of you.

Asian Business Forum (ABF)

Those ARI members who are keen to participate either as speakers or chairpersons for the Asian Business Forum, kindly contact Ms Nikki for details. ABF organizes specialized seminars targeting company directors, CEOs and MDs. Recently I was invited as a speaker on "Financial Fraud Indicators". It is an extremely good place to network. Nikki's contact details are as follows:
Ms Nikki Ong
Conference Development Manager
Asia Business Forum
Suite 20.05, Level 20, Wisma Goldhill
67 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-2070 3299 Ext:109
Fax:603-2070-3369
www.abf-asia.com

Prof Binshan Writing Workshop

To date we have received about twelve papers from those who are participating in Prof Binshan's writing workshop scheduled on 1-5 June 2009. These papers will be emailed to Prof Binshan. This is to facilitate the running of the workshop. We really need to be effective so that all papers will ultimately be published in ISI journals. It is therefore important that Prof Binshan receives your papers before his arrival. Part of the workshop program will involve one-on-one discussions between individual writers and Prof Binshan. Those who are yet to submit your papers, please do so by Thursday, the latest. We are also inviting some RU committee to be present on the first day of the workshop. There's also request that the workshop be taped so that others can view the video later on.

E-Book Demo by Sciencedirect

The E-book demo by Sciencedirect publisher will be held on 5th June 2009 at 11.00 am. The PTAR is organising the demo and all ARI members (particularly those are are more inclined to write books) are invited and encouraged to attend.

Reflections...

After receiving the notes from Khasiah re: Talk by Prof Asma on RU, I realised that we just need to FOCUS. Everything we do for ARI this year must focus on producing ISI and Scopus publications. The Malim Sarjana project with Prof Binshan in June will hopefully produce some 20 ISI publications this year. Our seven research centres: FRRC, CGRC, AMARC, APCeS, AFARe, CeRIA and PSARC must work on securing international grants. Researchers should also focus on presenting papers at conferences that are linked with ISI and Scopus. No more talking, just DO IT.

Prof Asma Talk on RU

Prof Dr Asma, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) from USM came to UiTM to give a talk on Research Uinversity. Due to Zawati's demise, I was not able to attend the talk. Nevertheless, one of my committee members, Puan Khasiah Zakaria gave me the following email for our perusal: "Assalamualaikum wbt.
We just got back from the Prof Asma talk about RU, then adjourned to tea with Dato VC ,,,
1. we only need to concentrate on journals in Scopus and ISI only..
2. must do urgent bengkel of all the deans about RU esp on how to fill in the form
3. must work on the reporting of Scopus and ISI so everybody knows,
4. just buy the ISI...cannot wait for d consortium....

these are d things i remember most , d rest will be sent later " Khasiah Zakaria

Updating Information for RU Database

All ARI and faculty members are urged to update their information related to research, industry linkages, paper presentation and publication with PRISMA or through the Deputy Dean. I understand that this years' Anugerah Kualiti Naib Canselor (AKNC)award will also include RU criteria in its assessment process. Please update your CV so that the university is able to capture the latest information in our system.

Road to RU

We must be deliberate in our actions: every activities planned for the next 1-2 years must be RU-based. The translation being, researchers must focus on the following: getting research grants from national and international bodies; securing consulting projects for the university; publication in ISI or Scopus-indexed journals; indexing university's journals with Scopus/ISI; publication in refereed journals; Producing Chapters in Books; Writing in professional journals; presenting papers at conferences that are recognised by ISI/Scopus; Networking with renowned authors and researchers. ALL ARI members are expected to focus on these. We can do it.

Journals for Scopus submission

A meeting to discuss procedures and strategies to sumbit six UiTM refereed journals to Scopus was held today. The managing editors and journal administrators of the six journals agreed to submit online and to send all relevant evidences to Scopus by 3rd June 2009. The six journals identified for Scopus submission are: Malaysian Accounting Review, Asia Pacific Management Accounting Journal, Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, Economic Buletin, Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Journal of International Business and Entrepreneurship.

Successful NAfMA 2009 Workshop

Congratulations to the organizing committee at ARI for a successful NAfMA workshop at the Bilik Warisan, Galeri Sultanah Zahariah in UiTM. The workshop was attented by twenty two practitioners who were keen to know more about NAfMA. Special thanks to En Ibrahim Morshidi and Puan Norhafizah from ARI for their great efforts in contacting and inviting prospective participants for the event.

Collaboration with MYAA & MAREF

A meeting was held today to discuss the possibility of collaboration between ARI, the Malaysian Accounting Association (MYAA) and MAREF. The newly appointed MYAA President Prof Dr Ibrahim Kamal and his exco members have proposed two seminar dates. The first seminar targets accounting teachers from secondary schools and matriculation colleges. This will be held on 13th August 2009. The second seminar will be in February 2010 which will target university and polytechnic lecturers.

We MUST have the Data...

This is a common problem: we carry out a lot of activities such as paper presentation, book publication, journal article publication, national and international researches and obtaining research funding from various sources, yet we do not have the information securely recorded anywhere. It is indeed timely that ARI should have an officer who is tasked to recording all these information and to keep all members updated with the correct information. To ARI members who are good with information management system, please think of an effective way of keeping all these strategic information.

Research Blueprint 2009

After a moving VC speech, the next two days involved very serious discussions among members who are mainly deans, campus directors and RU committees. Discussions were basically divided into short and long term measures. The long term RU and Beyond measures coincide with the university's Rancangan Malaysia ke Sepuluh RMK10. The strategic planning meeting discusses strategies, objectives, initiatives, KPIs and process owners. ARI could facilitate the whole process by making sure that our own strategic processes are in congruence with the university's.

Research Blueprint at Puncak Alam

A three-day Strategic Planning meeting was held at the Puncak Perdana campus on 14-16 May 2009. The new campus is just amazing with state-of-the-art facility and its beautiful green surrounding. On the first day, the VC gave his speech which set the tone of the meeting. "Just give me the RU this year..." was his message.

Public Bank NAfMA Sponsorship

The first NAfMA 2009 workshop was held at the Public Bank Conference Room today. A total of forty aspiring participants attended the workshop. Mr Mustafa, the CFO of Bank Rakyaat - the Excellence award winner of NAfMA 2008 also came to the workshop to give his testimonials of the management accounting award. Participants were also hosted by Public Bank to lunch and a cheque presentation ceremony. Y. Bhg Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow, the Founder and Chairman of PBB was present to grace the occassion.

AQuR Seminar

The seminar was a success with about 200 audit practitioners attending. Congratulation PM Dr Zuraidah and her team. The MIA president was confident that AQuR could be used globally and MIA wants to showcase it as a Malaysian product. Great prospect of commercialisation. The seminar was officiated by the YB Dato' Seri Azmi Khalid, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Malaysia.

Announcing New Corporate Governance Network

I receive a forwarded email announcing the formation of the New Corporate Governance Network. All ARI members and in particular the CGRC members, please take note of this development:

"We are pleased to announce the creation of the Corporate Governance Network (CGN) . It will provide a worldwide, online community for research in all areas of corporate governance, following the model of other subject matter networks within SSRN.

CGN will be merging with the Social & Environmental Impact Network (SEIN), and will adopt all of Subject Matter eJournals and Research Paper Series, as noted below.

We expect CGN to become a comprehensive online resource for research in corporate governance, providing scholars with access to current work in their field and facilitating research and scholarship.

CGN is sponsored by the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) Institute , whose mission is to provide thought leadership at the intersection of corporate responsibility and the informational needs of investors. While the Institute is a relatively new non-profit organization, formed with the proceeds of the sale of the Investor Responsibility Research Center in 2006, it continues the tradition and standards of objective research for which IRRC has been known since 1972. For more information, please see http://www.irrcinstitute.org .

CGN's founding director is Lucian A. Bebchuk , William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance, and Director, Corporate Governance Program, Harvard University - Harvard Law School; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Research Associate, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI).

Initially, CGN will begin with the following 21 subject matter eJournals, and subscriptions will be free during the start-up phase through October 2009. CGN will also begin with two Research Paper Series -- Rock Center for Corporate Governance and Oxford Internet Institute -- as noted below.

CGN is creating an online community interested in the expanding area of corporate governance research. Since corporate governance is a growing, interdisciplinary subject, submissions should be limited to no more than two CGN journals."

For details, please browse through CGN@ssrn.com

Our Deepest Condolence to DR Erlane

Our deepest condolence to ARI's research associate, Dr Erlane K. Ghani over the demise of her beloved mother. Alfatihah

Present and Publish

In the last Senate Meeting, the Vice Chancellor had indicated his concern over the large amount of money spent to finance lecturers and researchers to present their papers at international conferences. Unfortunately some of the papers are never published after being presented. The VC is now contemplating of making it compulsory that all papers presented at conferences MUST be published before one can ask for another grant to present another paper.

ResearcherID: Identify, Communicate & Collaborate

During his last visit to UiTM, Mr Raj from ISI Thomson Reuter had encouraged our researchers to be a member to the ResearcherID.com network. Please find below, an excerpt from the website at www.researcherID.com. Please browse through and register yourself. ResearcherID is a global, multi-disciplinary scholarly research community. With a unique identifier assigned to each author in ResearcherID, you can eliminate author misidentification and view an author’s citation metrics instantly. Search the registry to find collaborators, review publication lists and explore how research is used around the world.

http://www.researcherid.com/VerifyURL.action?id=dnlZnewTLcau07M0uMwNL56Te4j9q3aAgVwG%2BfN2h4u2heed1rN11BY1fY4YO5Hh

Purchase of New Books and Resources

ARI has recently bought new books on the following topics: Forensic Accounting, Research Methodology, Qualitative Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Corporate Governance, Balanced Scorecard, Structural Equation Modelling and Statutes. If anyone of you has relevant titles to recommend, please give them to Ms Wan Mariati asap

Congratulations PAIB Award Winners

ARI wishes to congratulate four of our members who have won the Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Best Articles awards. The competition was organized by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). Associate Prof Dr Lai Ming Ling (Taxation) had won the GOLD Award; Prof Dr Suzana (management accounting)the SILVER award and Associate Prof Dr Zuraidah Sanusi (Auditing) the BRONZE awards. Congratulations again, we are so proud of you...

Meeting with Jo-Ann from SCOPUS

ARI's journal administrators: Dr Lai Ming Ling, Dr Rozainun and Puan Wan Mariati had the opportunity to meet up and discuss with Ms Jo-Ann from SCOPUS with the possibility of registering MAR, APMAJ and JoFRA with the database company. Since the publication of our journals has been timely and consistent, the chances of being registered is also very high. The fact that our journals are also indexed with Ebscohost, Cabell and Ulrich is another plus point. So ARI will be submitting the forms to register our journals very soon. Thanks Ms Khasiah Zakaria from PTAR for arranging the meeting.

MAR in the Journal Rating

What a lovely feeling. Our journal, Malaysian Accounting Review (MAR)is again ranked in the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal List 2009 under category "C" - which is mainly for new journals. There are a lot more journals out there that are yet to be ranked by the ABDC. Congratulations to ARI, Faculty of Accountancy & MAREF for this achievement

Research on the Governance of Cooperatives

We received a letter from one senior auditor requesting ARI & UiTM to conduct research on the governance of cooperatives in Malaysia. Well, this is a good area to research on. The financial reporting standard of cooperatives is fairly "loose" and there's a dire need to develop one. Perhaps researchers from the Financial Reporting Research Centre can undertake research on this topic. Details on the request is available with ARI.

Putting MAR online

In an effort to increase the readership and the citation of articles of the Malaysian Accounting Review (MAR)Journal, both UiTM and the Malaysian Accounting Research & Education Foundation (MAREF)are considering putting MAR online. MAREF will help with the marketing and the distribution of the journal to various professional bodies worldwide, international libraries and accounting department of international universities.

Malaysian Accounting Association (MYAA)

Congratulations Prof Ibrahim Kamal for his recent appointment as the new president of the MYAA. Prof Ibrahim has indicated his intention for MYAA to collaborate with ARI in all its activities. That's a brilliant idea. MYAA can encourage its members to publish in any one of ARI's three journals. Inter-university research and publication collaborations are now possible. Both MYAA & ARI are planning to organise an academic conference at the end of 2009.

Meeting with ACCA & APCeS

A meeting was held today to discuss on further details of a forthcoming seminar organised by the UiTM-ACCA Asia Pacific Centre of Sustainability. Discussions were focussed on programs, speakers and prospective participants. Associate Prof Dr Faizah chaired the meeting. The ACCA was represented by Ms Seri and Ms Jennifer Lopez.