Thank You Prof Dr Ibrahim Kamal Abdul Rahman

Professor Dr Ibrahim Kamal Abdul Rahman is a very much respected personality in Universiti Teknologi MARA and particularly within the accounting fraternity in Malaysia. Today is his last official day as the Dean of the Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA and this entry is especially dedicated to this great man. Throughout his tenureship as a dean, Professor Ibrahim Kamal has successfully brought the Faculty of Accountancy to greater heights. Indeed, the establishment of the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) in 2003 was his own "brainchild". As a dean to one of the largest faculties in the university, he wanted to give equal emphasis to both academic programs and research activities. Hence, ARI was established so that keen researchers could embark on research projects and to focus on publications and academic writings. Facilities and resources were specifically given to ARI so as to allow the newly formed research institute to grow in tandem with the faculty's progress. ARI has since evolved from "special-interest group SIG" to "research centre" and to research institute. Today, it is one of the six national Higher Institutions' Centre of Excellence (HICoE). This successful evolution is in itself a tribute to the vision of this great man: Professor Dr Ibrahim Kamal. We will certainly miss your leadership as a dean. Today, the faculty has grown many folds and has produced many "first". Thank you sir, may you continue to be a great mentor and an inspiration to all of us....

ARI's Phase 2 Proposal Retreat

Day 3
The proposal presentations continued on the third day of the Retreat. Useful feedback from the panels would be effectively incorporated in the research proposals. Cluster heads and their members made plans on interim reviews so as to ensure that research projects progress as planned. To support its global aspiration to become a regional centre of excellence in the niche research area of Islamic Financial Criminology, the Accounting Research Institute (ARI)has recently established its own strategic initiatives known as "C-Cure". ARI's current C-Cure initiaves are namely: C-Cure International Grant, C-Cure Training, C-Cure Post Graduates, C-Cure PI, C-Cure Collaboration, C-Cure Publication and C-Cure Innovation.
The focus of 2012 research projects is to forge regional and international collaboration with renowned researchers and research centres. In a nutshell, the Retreat has achieved its objectives. In addition to the successful completion of its 2012 research proposals, Retreat 2011 at Port Dickson has been a great platform for team building for ARI researchers. May 2012 be another great year for all of us...

ARI's Phase 2 Proposal Retreat

Day 2
The second day is dedicated to the preparation of research proposals. All cluster heads gathered their respective researcher groups and syscronize their research objectives, data collection instrumentation, data analysis and deliverables. The groups also needed to discuss and select the best regional and international collaborators who could add value to their research projects. In tandem with Malaysia's aspiration to become an effective global hub for the Islamic Finance Industry, ARI's research thrust in Islamic Financial Criminology has two-prong long term objectives. Firstly, through its Islamic Finance research cluster, the Accounting Research Institute hopes to develop new potential products for the industry. In view of ARI's own expertise, there's certainly prospects in Islamic Microfinancing, Shariah Audit, Zakat and Waqaf. Secondly, through the Financial Criminology cluster, ARI hopes to mitigate financial crime and to develop fraud prevention mechanism in order to protect the Islamic Finance industry. Researchers were accordingly grouped to prepare their respective research proposals. All proposals were presented to the selected panel of experts...

ARI's Phase 2 Proposal Retreat

Day 1:
Researchers from the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) will be participating in a three-day research proposal retreat in Port Dickson on 27-29 December 2011. The Retreat is to specifically discuss, deliberate and finalise ARI's Phase 2 research proposals in Islamic Financial Criminology for 2012. The 2012 research proposals are cluster-based: three clusters under the Islamic Finance research thrust and another three clusters under the Financial Criminology group. For the Islamic Finance thrust, the three research clusters are namely "Islamic Microfinancing", "Shari'ah and Islamic Governance" and "Zakat & Waqaf". On the same token, the three research clusters for the Financial Criminology are namely "Financial Reporting & Governance of Non-Profit Organizations", Anti-Money laundering & Counter Financing of Terrorism" and "Anti-Fraud Methodologies & Fraud Risk Indicators". In view of the HICoE aspiration to go regional, all research clusters are expected to invite and to include regional and international collaborative partners in their research projects. On day one, ARI Director, Professor Dr Normah Omar gave a briefing on the aspiration and expectation of the Retreat. As cluster-based research projects, researchers need to syncronize their own research objectives with the cluster's overall objective. Participants were also advised to match their research timeline with expected deliverables. The 2012 research projects on Islamic Financial Criminology are more focused with deliverables in the forms of new products, new policies and innovation.

ARI-IBS Collaborative Research

Two Malaysian Higher Institutions' Centre of Excellence (HICoE): Accounting Research Institute (ARI)and Institute of Bioscience (IBS)are collaborating in a research project titled "Economic and Social Impact of Establishing a Microcomposite Algae Industry for Malaysia". Four ARI researchers, Associate Professor Dr Faizah Darus, Associate Professor Dr Roshayani Arshad, Associate Professor Dr Haslinda Yusuf and Dr Azizah Abdullah are involved in the collaborative project. IBS researchers include Prof Dr Mohamad Sharif, Prof Dr Abdul Rahman, Prof Dr Maznah, Prof Dr Rozita and Dr Sanjoy. As a result of new demand for renewable energy as well as potential in the wellness sector, Algae is a possible new industry for Malaysia. Among the social and economic impacts expected from this new industry is the development of new industrialization location for algae, new jobs for the community and finding alternative commercial usage of the algae composites.

CISM and Corporate Participations

The Private Sector Division of the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM) held its 2nd Corporate Integrity System Malaysia (CISM)Roundtable Session at the IIM office in Kuala Lumpur. Today's Roundtable Session was chaired by Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob (Chairman of The Malaysian Industrial Development Authority - MIDA and was IIM's first President). The half-day event discussed among others, initiatives to move the CISM forward. This includes the publications of two books on CISM in 2012: the first book on "CISM Framework" is to be written by the Academia Group who helped to develop the self-assessment CISM questionnaire and the second book on "CISM Ecosystem" would be "commissioned" to the Malaysian Council of Professors. In addition to the two books, future initiatives would include participation by the corporate sectors to utilize the CISM questionnaire and to conduct self evaluation of their own Corporate Integrity System.
Several corporations have indicated their interest to participate in the self-evaluation exercise. Today's event was attended by several corporate and public sector participants such as Celcom, Telecom Malaysia Berhad, Amanahraya Berhad, Al-Rajhi Bank, Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group (MSWG), the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP),Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC), MIMOS, MAICSA, CIDB, INCEIF and Universiti Teknologi MARA.

Financial Management for NPOs

In our effort to enhance our international collaboration, two Accounting Research Institute (ARI)researchers met up with CPA Australia Senior Policy Adviser Dr Mark Shying at the CPA Australia office in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting was essentially to discuss the possibility of adapting or benchmarking Dr Shying's framework on "Financial Planning & Management for Non Profit Organizations" for emerging economies in this region. Dr Shying developed the financial planning framework for CPA Australia and it was adopted successfully by the state of Victoria. As the two ARI researchers: Prof Dr Normah Omar and Associate Professor Dr Roshayani Arshad are currently undertaking a research project involving NPOs in Malaysia, Dr Shying's framework would certainly be handy to be adapted by the group.

Launching of New Annual Reporting Format for Societies

As part of a pilot project, the Selangor's Registrar of Societies (ROS) launched a new annual reporting format that societies registered in the state would need to comply to. ROS introduced a "B9" form which incorporates the requirements of three important legislations and recommendations: The Societies Act 1966; The Asia-Pacific Group of anti-money laundering (APG Mutual Evaluation 2007) and APG Non Profit Organization Typologies 2011. Five Accounting Research Institute (ARI)researchers: Associate Professor Dr Roshayani, Prof Dr Normah, Prof Dr Rashidah, Associate Prof Dr Jamaliah and Dr Intan Salwani participated in the development of this initiative. ROS is planning to introduce the online report submission within the next few years. Today, the launching of the new format was graced by the deputy minister, Ministry of Home Affairs, Dato' Lee Chee Leong at a special event held at Stadium Chin Woo, Kuala Lumpur. A total of three hundred participants who represented various societies in Selangor attended the launching ceremony. Congratulations ROS.

Welcome Prof Omar Masood

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI)welcomes Visiting Professor Dr Omar Masood from the University of East London (UEL)to Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Prof Omar is also the Director of a newly launched Centre of Islamic Banking and Finance at UEL. Today, he visited ARI to discuss forthcoming 2012 collaborations: joint post-graduate supervision; post graduate exchange program; joint research; joint publication, training & consultancy and co-organization of future international conferences in Islamic Finance & Muamalat.

HICoE Audit 2011

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI)welcomes two HICoE auditors or assessors Prof Dr Muhammad bin Jantan (MJ) and Associate Professor Dr Stephanie Pillai. The duo came to Universiti Teknologi MARA to conduct a site visit on ARI's 2010 performance as a Higher Institutions' Centre of Excellence. The audit basically focuses on five main agendas: (i)to evaluate ARI HICoE's first year fundamental research projects in the area of Islamic Financial Criminology, (ii)to verify ARI's HICoE budget utilization, (iii)to discuss any matters or issues arising from ARI HICoE's implementation, (iv)to evaluate ARI's institutional profiles and to determine ARI's readiness to become a regional player and (v)for ARI to showcase its second year's research projects in the niche area of Islamic Financial Criminology. The one day event was attended by ARI's research fellows, Heads of Research Centres, research associates and research assistants. In their exit report, the auditors indicated their overall satisfaction with ARI's progress and development. Two very important suggestions proposed were (i) In view of its research focus in Islamic Finance and Financial Criminology, ARI should set up its own Research Ethic Committee (REC)to oversee ethics-related matters with respect data confidentiality and disclosures; and (ii)In showcasing its potential as a regional HICoE, ARI should develop measurable characteristics of its researchers so that they could be benchmarked by others. In a nutshell, ARI members appreciate the professionalism shown by the two auditors througout the audit session. Thank you..

Accountability Against Financial Fraud

"Pay Up or be Axed"....That's the headline that appeared on the main page of The Star newspaper dated 26th November 2011. Basically, the headline was refering to the Malaysian government recent proposal in mitigating the issue of occupational or management fraud within the public sector. It was further stated that "Officers who cause the government to lose money due to their negligence will be made to repay a portion of the lost revenue and they may even be sacked. If there are cases of embezzlement, ministry and department heads have to take the responsibility to report the matter to the police so that an investigation can be carried out". The Public Service Department (PSD)introduced these measures to ensure that civil servants are held accountable for the losses highlighted by the Auditor General in the 2010 Report. PSD recently issued a set of comprehensive guidelines to all ministries and state authorities on procedures in managing financial fraud at workplaces...

Book Publication on CISM

The Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM) is embarking on the publication of a new book titled "Corporate Integrity System Malaysia" (CISM). The Accounting Research Institute, which is represented by its director, Professor Dr Normah Omar has been invited to chair the "Book Publication" meeting held today at IIM. Premised on the New Economic Model (NEM) the CISM solicits feedback from various stakeholders: Professional Bodies, Trade chambers, Academia Experts, Regulatory Authorities, Enforcement Agencies, Multinational Corporations, Government-Linked Companies,
Public Listed Companies, Small Medium Industries, Retailers and Consumer Markets. In soliciting feedback from stakeholders, the Private Sector Group of IIM had organized many Roundtable sessions and seminars. The academia Expert group has successfully produced a "Consultative Document on Corporate Integrity System Assessment Questionnaire" that can be used by corporations to self-assess their corporate integrity system.

New Tools and Research Projects in Financial Fraud investigation

Towards the end of the semester, the students who are currently undertaking the Anti Money Laundering and Financial Criminology course are busy finalising their final research project. The project requires the students to work in group and to choose real financial fraud cases and to simulate the cases with latest analytical techniques in fraud investigation. The simulation project requires them to come up with fresh documentary evidences by conducting face to face interviews with different groups of employees affected by the fraud or to discuss with enforcement agencies and regulators.. Throughout the semester, the students have been exposed to various real-life financial fraud cases. They had to present two prior cases where they had to (i) identify possible weaknesses in the internal control system; (ii) understand the theories underpinning fraudulent behaviours and (iii) learn to use new tools that can be handy and useful in financial fraud investigation. Three guest speakers comprising a police officer, a merchant banker and a deputy public prosecutor were also invited to give talks on financial criminology.

Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology Association

The Protem Committee and graduates of our Master in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology Program met up today to discuss the formation of the Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology Association and the registration of the association with the Registrar of Societies (ROS). Members of the association will comprise graduates of the program whose number is now reaching two hundred. The Master program was first introduced in July 2006 and the first graduate cohort was produced in August 2008. In addition to normal membership, the association will also admit students and practioners as associate members. Currently, the top three protem committee members comprise President, Mohd Rashid Tan Sri Musa; Haswadi (Deputy President) and Hesri Faizal (Secretary). The formation of the association will path the way towards developing more qualified professionals in the area of forensic accounting and financial criminology. As a HICoE driving a niche research area of Islamic Financial Criminology, the formation of this new association will certainly adds value to the Accounting Research Institute (ARI)and the Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). More collaborative works in the area of research, training program and publications will be initiated with the upcoming association.

Discussions on Islamic Microfinancing

The Islamic Accounting and Muamalat research group had a fruitful discussion with one of the guest speakers of the World Universities 1st Zakat Conference which was just recently held in Kuala Lumpur.
The speaker, Dr Malik Al Asmar (in brown suit)from Belgium visited the Accounting Research Institute this morning to discuss on possible international collaboration in zakat research and Islamic microfinancing. Both topics are in line with ARI's 2012 research program in Islamic Accounting and Muamalat. Dr Malik has agreed in principle to participate with ARI for both projects. A phd student from Iran, Mr Syed (in brown shirt)has recently enrolled with ARI to embark on a study related to Islamic Microfinancing.

ARI Exhibition at a "211 Hours Non-Stop Debate"

In an effort to list this activity in the Malaysia Book of Records, the organizers comprising Universiti Teknologi MARA, Utusan Malaysia and Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM) organize a "211 hours non-stop debate". Themed "Transformation and National Integration", the debate's participants include students from public universities, private universities, community colleges, Teachers colleges, polytechnics and secondary schools in Malaysia. At the end of the event, the organizers expect to produce useful resolutions as proposed by the Generation Y. Yang Berhormat Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Higher Education graced open to officiate the event today at Universiti Teknologi MARA. In conjunction with the historic eight-day event, the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) participates in the exhibition activity by showcasing ARI's research products and expertise. As a Higher Institutions' Centre of Excellence (HICoE), ARI's expertise cover varied range of accounting-related matters. This include financial criminology, forensic accounting, Islamic accounting & finance, public sector accounting, corporate governance, CSR reporting & sustainability, Financial Reporting, accounting standards, government-link companies research and management accounting. All the best to all. The time clicks on, time to beat... 211 hours

Preparing for PhD Research Proposal

This week, aspiring PhD candidates of the university are attending an intensive research proposal workshop which is organized by the Institute of Leadership and Quality Managemenet (IlQAM). As one of the facilitators for the workshop, Prof Dr Normah Omar, Director of the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) delivered her talk today on a topic "Preparing a PhD Research Proposal". It was stressed in her talk that one of the most important elements of a research prosal is the identification of the right "PROBLEM STATEMENT". It is important in a proposal that the problem stand out so that the reader can easily recognize it. Sometimes, obscure and poorly formulated problems are masked in an extended discussion. In such cases, reviewers and/or committee members will have difficulty recognizing the problem. A problem statement should be presented within a context, and that context should be provided and briefly explained, including a discussion of the conceptual or theoretical framework in which it is embedded. Clearly and succinctly identify and explain the problem within the framework of the theory or line of inquiry that undergirds the study. This is of major importance in nearly all proposals and requires careful attention. It is a key element that associations such as AERA and APA look for in proposals. It is essential in all quantitative research and much qualitative research. State the problem in terms intelligible to someone who is generally sophisticated but who is relatively uninformed in the area of your investigation. Effective problem statements answer the question “Why does this research need to be conducted.” If a researcher is unable to answer this question clearly and succinctly, and without resorting to hyperspeaking (i.e., focusing on problems of macro or global proportions that certainly will not be informed or alleviated by the study), then the statement of the problem will come off as ambiguous and diffuse. Once the problem is clearly identified, pay attention to other important components of a proposal:
1. Title (Working Title)
2. Preamble/Introduction
3. Short Statement of the Problem
4. Research Objectives
5. Research Questions/Hypothesis
6. Review of Research Literature
7. The Design - Methods and Procedures
8. Tentative Time Table
9. References
10.Attachments/Appendixes

NPO Governance & Reporting

The Selangor Registrar of Societies (ROS)is embarking on a pilot project to enhance the
governance and reporting of societies and non profit organisations (NPO) who are currently registered with ROS. The pilot project is initiated jointly by ROS and the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) of Universiti Teknologi MARA. Premised on the requirements of the Societies Act 1966, the Asia Pacific Group on anti Money Laudering (APG Mutual Evaluation 2007) Report and the APG Typologies of NPO (2011), the pilot project develops an assessment instrument and evaluates the governance and financial reporting practices of 100 NPOs. The results of the pilot project will be ready by the end of November 2011. Today, Prof Dr Normah Omar (ARI Director), associate Professor Dr Roshayani Arshad (Head of the project) met up with ROS directors from Selangor (MR Noreffendy) and Kuala Lumpuar (Ms Zuliana) to discuss research progress. Currently ROS Selangor and ROS Kuala Lumpur have respectively more 9,000 and 8,000 societies and NPOs registered under them. Efforts are continuously undertaken by ROS to improve the governance and financial reporting of NPOs in Malaysia.

Financial Fraud Investigation Analysis

Master students from the Anti Money Laundering and Financial Criminology course presented their respective local financial fraud cases and showcased different analytical techniques which include Beniesh M-Score Model, Horizontal & Analytical Analysis, Ratio Analaysia. Fraud Risk Indicator Typology, Risk Management Model, Financial Integrity model, Accounting Anamolies Analysis. Some of the local cases presented include Transmile Berhad, Megan Media Berhad, Nasioncom, Tat Sang Berhad, Jasatera Bhd, Wimems Corporation Bhd, Welli Multi Corporation and Inix Group. One of the groups was presenting two cases of cheque fraud and how the use of the VSC6000 document analyzer machine was able to detect the fraud. The focus of the presentation was to highlight financial fraud investigation framework as well as analysis of the data collected. Most of the companies who were involved with financial reporting-related issues have since either been suspended or delisted from the local bourse.

APMAA Conference 2011 - Day Three

Day three started with three parallel sessions which were grouped under Finance, Audit & Financial Reporting and Management Accounting- Budget & Reward System. A total of nine papers were presented in the early morning sessions. After the morning break, another twelve papers were elaborated and discussed in three sub-groups of "performance evaluation", "Balanced Scorecard" and "intellectual Capital & Information Technology". The final session of the conference was the Plenary Discussions. The Plenary segment was moderated by Professor Akira Nishimura, the founder and first president of the Asia Pacific Management Accounting Association (APMAA). Two speakers namely Prof Paul Scarborough from Brock University, Canada and Prof Kenji Yasukata from Kinki University Japan presented their papers which looked at the role of management accounting information in value creation in international companies. Prior to the closing of the conference, APMAA President Professor Susumo Ueno made his closing speech and remark. In a nutshell APMAA Conference 2011 has achieved its objectives. In the afternoon, private meetings were held by members of the steering committee
and the Asia Pacific Management Accounting Journal APMAJ. Discussions were also made on forging international research collaboration among APMAA member countries and for members to secure international grants for the projects. The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) from Malaysia is initiating a one year research project on "Target Costing Implementation and Practices in Asia Pacific Region". To date, members from several countries have indicated interest to participate: Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UAE, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The group hopes to present their survey findings during the next APMAA Conference. Another collaborative project is a managemenmt accounting book with the proposed title of "Management Accounting Practices in the Asia Pacific Region" which is also targeted to be completed within a year. Professor Roger Willet and Professor Nishimura will be joint editors for this book. Till we meet again next year at the 8th APMAA Conference in Xiamen, China.

APMAA Conference 2011: Day Two

The second day of the conference started with another keynote paper on the theme "Management Accounting: A Value Creation Tool for Sustainability" by Mr Jeremy Nasrulhaq. Jeremy is an Independent, Non-Executive Director of the Malaysia Airport Holding Berhad (MAHB). Being in the industry for the past 29 years, he has held various key positions at international multi national companies. Based on his own experiences, management accounting has always been used strategically by the companies he worked with. When he served Unilever Malaysia as a Commercial Director, he has created a lot of management accounting-related positions so that accountants are not just focussing on preparing reports, but more importantly act as business partners to the organization. Following the keynote address were three Parallel sessions broken into three sub-themes:Management Accounting & Strategic Management Accounting, Governance & auditing and Financial Accounting & management. A total of twenty papers were presented concurrently by participants. After the lunch break, participants were taken to Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative capital city for a tour. Then in the evening, participants were invited to the 7th APMAA dinner, which was sponsored by DRB HICOM Berhad. Forthcoming hosts of the 8th (Xiamen University, China) and 9th (Nagoya University) APMAA conferences were also invited to give short previews of the event that will be held in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

APMAA Conference 2011 - Day One

The International Conference of the Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Association (APMAA) 2011 started
on a high note with opening speeches by the President Prof Dr Susumo Ueno, Vice President Prof Dr Normah Omar and a keynote address by Datuk Bazlan Osman, CFO of Telekom Malaysia Berhad. Datuk Bazlan's paper titled "Management Accounting - A Value Creation Tool for Sustainability" discusses the various management accounting tools used and implemented by the telecommunication company. At TM Berhad, management accounting tools are used for profit planning, cost management, performance evaluation, developing strategic maps for Strategic Business Units (SBUs)and in deciding the quantum of stakeholders reward. In gauging and cascading the understanding of corporate vision, strategic objectives, actual implementation and business performance, TM Berhad uses the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) tool. After the morning break, the plenary session showcased two speakers: Prof Roger Willett from the University of Tasmania spoke on "Quantitative and Qualitative Methods and Trend in Management Research" and Prof Tae-Sik Ahn from Seoul National University, Korea discussed on "Social Responsibilities of Business School". A Discussion panel discussed a topic on "direction of Management Accounting Research in the Asia Pacific Region" saw five professors critically analyzing research directions in Japan (Prof Ueno from Konan University), Korea (prof Tae Young Paik, from Sungkyunkwan University), Indonesia (Prof Grahita from University of Merdeka, Malang), Thailand (Prof Wila-sini from Chulalongkorn University) and China (Prof Gu Liang Tang from International Business and Economics University).
After the lunch break, the conference continued with a FORUM where four practitioners and one professor participated in the discussion. The session was moderated by Mr Venkkat Ramanan, Head of CIMA Malaysia. he four practitioners were namely Mr Nor Haimee Zakaria from Bank Rakyat Malaysia; Mr Mohd Shukrie from Pos Malaysia Berhad; Mr Peer Mohamad from Bank Muamalat and Mr Terence Soo from Hicom Teck See. Prof Jimmy Tsay represented the academic researcher group. Wow, there's indeed so many things to learn. The day's event ended with a Summit meeting where invited heads of accounting association discussed of ways to move forward in promoting management accounting as a competitive tool. Mr Yeoh from MIA/CIMA presented a snapshot of Malaysia's National Awards for Management Accounting (NAfMA).

Signing Letters of Intent

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI)signed two letters of intent to signify interests of respective parties to forge potential collaboration in the areas of research, post graduate supervision, staff and students exchanges. The two institutions, namely University of Tasmania Australia and University of Merdeka, Malang Indonesia signed the letters of intent at a special segment during the APMAA 2011 conference at the Shah Alam Convention Centre (SACC) today. Once the paper works are ready, a more formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed by the vice chancellors of the universities in the near future. For ARI, the MOU signing will add more impetus to the internationalisation drive for its HICoE status.

PhD Colloquium

In conjunction with the 7th International Conference of the Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Association (APMAA)which is hosted jointly by APMAA and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), a PhD Colloquium is held today. Professor Dr Paul Scarborough from Brock University, Canada gave an interesting keynote speech which implicates the fact that good publications arise from well thought-off research projects. Hence, phd candidates should plan and strategize their research projects in a manner that would result in publication spin-offs. A total of ten papers were presented by ten PhD candidates comprising those from first to final year students. The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) thanks all discussants who took time to review the papers. All in all, the discussants had given some very good feedback for all the papers presented. In fact, the PhD Colloquium 2011 is APMAA's latest initiative for its annual conference activity. More than fifty PhD students attended the one day colloquium held at the Wawasan Room, Universiti Teknologi MARA's beautiful green campus in Shah Alam. Well done all and thank you

NPO Online Reporting for ROS

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) and the Registrar of Societies (ROS) have been discussing on a collaborative project in developing an online reporting mechanism for all non-profit organisations and societies who have registered with the ROS.
Today, a group of ARI researchers, headed by Prof Dr Normah Omar made their proposal presentation to ROS Committee. The proposed project is an initiative by ROS and ARI to enpower societies and NPO to submit relevant information through an online mode. The Asia-Pacific Group (APG)on anti-money laundering and anti financing of terrorism in its recent typology report on NPOs has proposed that"Material Information" be made available by NPOs. Such information include (i) Sources of revenue (fees, donations, gifts and fund raising), (ii) Activities of NPOs, (iii) Expenditures and their distribution, (iv) Personnel (members, committee and management),
(v)List and Value of assets and liabilities, (vi) Governance structure and (vii)anti-money laundering and anti financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) policy. ARI's proposed project includes the development of a financial reporting guideline for NPOs, an online financial reporting system, governance structure and training of ROS staff. The pilot version of the system is expected to be ready by early December 2011. An outreach program to explain the proposed system to NPOs in the country will be organized by ROS in due time.