Congratulations Winners

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) congratulates all ARI Contingent members who have participated in the 3-day Invention, Innovation and Design Exposition 2014 (IIDEX 2014) and won big: five golds, six silvers and second runner up for the best contingent awards (from a total of 45 contingents).  Lists of  winning products are as follows:
1. Composite Integrity Index (CII) for Public and Private Sector Organisations: The New Frontiers (GOLD)
2. i-TRITS - Individual Tax Return Integrity & Transparency System (GOLD)
3. Self Governance Assessment Tool for Social Entrepreneurs (GOLD)
4. Risk Management Assessment Tool for Social Entrepreneurs (GOLD)
5. FINDS: Fraud Digital Forensic Tool (GOLD)
6. Integrated Accountability System (SILVER)
7. i-CSR Statement of Recommended Practice (SILVER)
8. Financial Health Check-Up Kit for Local Authorities towards Better Governance (SILVER)
9. Apis (SILVER)
10. sRQ Reform (SILVER)
11. Social Collateral Analyser (SILVER)
Well done all winners.  In its effort to drive its research in Islamic Financial Criminology, ARI inculcates the culture of innovation. Innovation is the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, in-articulated needs, or existing market needs. This is accomplished through more effective products, processes, services, technologies or ideas that will be made available to markets, businesses, governments and the society. 

PAIB Articles Merit Award

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) congratulates researchers from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)  for winning various awards for "PAIB Articles Merit Awards 2013".   Prof Dr Normah Omar, Director of ARI attended the prize giving event which was held at the Malaysian Institute of Accountants' office in Kuala Lumpur.  The two winning articles are respectively titled "Voluntary Risk Disclosure and Firm Value Creation of Malaysian Firms" and "Governance and Financial Reporting Framework of Non Profit Organisations in Malaysia". Congratulations all and well done. 

ARI-PBBM International Training - Day Eleven

Final Day

Today is our final day in Amsterdam.  We were taken to experience two "must dos" in Amsterdam: (i) Windmill and (ii) Canal excursion.  The Netherlands is synonymous for its windmills, clogs, tulips, canals, cheese markets… practically everything that you would expect to find in a charming and utterly picturesque country. But, whatever image you associate with the lowlands, the first thing likely to come to mind is the windmill (also known as molen). For centuries, windmills have helped the Dutch fight water shortages so it is little wonder that they were the first to develop ‘windmill technology.’ In the glory days, the Netherlands

boasted more than 10,000 mills but the molen population today stands at a mere 1,000. 

Many of the remaining mills are open to the public and a couple have even been transformed into homes.  In the morning, we were taken to visit a village famous for its windmills.  Later in the afternoon, we took the canal excursion in Amsterdam city.  In the evening, the group left Amsterdam for our lovely country Malaysia.  Home sweet home, but what a wonderful experience we had in England and Holland.

ARI-PBBM International Training - Day Ten

Day 10

Our last training destination is Amsterdam.  As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an "alpha world city" by a recent study group.   The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world's top 500 companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city.  In Amsterdam, the training participants were taken to visit the tulip plantations in Keukenhof. Covering some 79 acres (32 hectares), the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens is the world’s largest flower garden. We were told that during the springtime, the meandering, wooded gardens are visited by some 800,000 flower-lovers, who come to soak up the blaze of color that envelops the park, its greenhouses, brooks and shady ponds and

winding paths. It’s truly a memorable sight. At Keukenhof Tulip Gardens, nature’s talents are combined with artificial precision to create a wonder of landscaping, where millions of tulips, along with narcissi and daffodils, hyacinths, bluebells, and many others blossom perfectly in place and exactly on time. And if the temperatures have been wilting, don’t worry: fresh blooms are planted by helping hands for the duration of the season. Special exhibits are held in the pavilions around the site, and there are cafes and refreshment stands throughout.

Later in the evening, the participants had their group

presentations.  The participants were basically divided into six groups namely: (i) Bank Simpanan Nasional, (ii) Inland Revenue Board, (iii) Tabung Haji, LTAT and MAWIP, (iv) IPTAs, (v) Service Federal Agency (MTIB, Lada, SME Corp and MIDA) and (vi) FINAS and Perkeso.  The group basically reflected on the trainings that they have undertaken and indicated how they will improve on their operations, governance and leadership so that they will obtain much better performances in the future.  Well done everyone. 

ARI-PBBM International Training - Day Nine

Day Nine

Today, it's a different form of training.  The participants were taken for a fieldwork at the Manchester United Stadium Football Club at Old Traford in Manchester.  We were taken in for a professional tour and briefings  of the second largest stadium in the United Kingdom.  Manchester United Football Club (MUFC) is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. The training participants were told that MUFC was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878 and later, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.

 Being one of the most successful football clubs in the United Kingdom, MUFC have won twenty League titles, a record eleven FA Cups, four League Cups, and twenty FA Community Shields. The club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup, and

one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the club won a continental treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, an unprecedented feat for an English club. Just like any other business and government entities, MUFC  inculcates good governance and leadership in managing its football club.  Manchester United is the third-richest football club in the world  in terms of revenue,  and the second most valuable sports team in 2013 It is one of the most widely supported football teams in the world. 

After being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was purchased by Malcolm Glazer in May 2005 in a deal valuing the club at almost £800 million. In August 2012, Manchester United made an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.  Later in the afternoon, the group left for Amsterdam.

ARI-PBBM International Training - Day Eight

Day Eight

After a successful first day event, the ICGSM 2014 continues with the Keynote Speech by Prof Rob McCusker, Director of the Centre for Fraud and Financial Crime, Teesside Business School, on a topic titled "Risk Management and Corporate Governance: More Apparent than Real?".  This was followed by a Plenary session titled "The Global Diffusion of Public Governance Public Practices" with two prominent speakers.  Tan Sri Prof Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar shared his experiences through his talk entitled "Management and Governance of a Large University" where he needs to ensure that being big does not mean that the

university has to sacrifice on its quality of education. Tan Sri Sahol elaborated on the strategic planning and governance undertaken by Universiti Teknologi MARA in ensuring that the university graduates are highly employable and some become employers themselves.  Prof Dr Mishra from the Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) India, spoke on "Issues and Challenges of Governance in Public Enterprises in India".  The plenary session was followed by questions and answers session where training and conference participants had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss with the renown speakers.  later in the afternoon, Tan Sri Sahol Hamid met up with UiTM scholars who are currently pursuing their post graduate programs in the United Kingdom.

ARI-PBBM Integrated Training and Conference 2014 - Day Seven

Day Seven

After an interesting leadership discourse in Cambridge University, we traveled to Manchester City for the next event: International Conference on Governance and Strategic Management (ICGSM) 2014.  The two day conference is to be held  at the Manchester Conference Centre,  On the first day of the conference, there were slots for four "honorary lectures" on (i) Governance Policies of the WTO, (ii) Leadership and Governance in Change Management, (iii) Integrity in the Public Sector: Progression for Enhancement and (iv) "The Desire for Money is the Root of All Evils";  three concurrent sessions on (i) Corporate Governance & Public Sector Management, (ii) Strategic Management, Business and Finance, and (iii) Financial Criminology and Ethics.  In the afternoon, Ms Katrina A. Prentice gave another leadership Talk on "Enhancing Networking Skills in the Global Cross Culture Setting".  Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi MARA, Tan Sri Prof Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar and a few other researchers from the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) traveled to Teesside University to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

 At Teesside University, the group members were greeted by top officials of the university.  The MOU was effectively signed by the two vice chancellors later in the afternoon.  In the evening, conference dinner for participants was hosted by PBBM and the guest of honour being the deputy chairman, Tan Sri Prof Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar.

ARI-PBBM Integrated Training and Conference 2014 - Day Six

Day Six
We were warmly greeted by top officials at Cambridge University.  After an official photo shoot, we were taken to the Judge Business School.  Cambridge Judge Business School, formerly known as the Judge Institute of Management Studies, is the business school of the University of Cambridge.  Established in 1954 as Management Studies in the Engineering Department, and in 1990 as Judge Institute for Management Studies, and in 2005 as Judge Business School. the School is a provider of management education and is consistently ranked as one of the world's leading business schools. It is

named after Sir Paul Judge, chief founding benefactor of the school.  At Judge Business School, we were given two interesting leadership talks: (i) Leadership in Context - Prof Jochen Runde and (ii) Leadership and Governance - Dr Philip Stiles. Giving Cambridge University as a case study,  Prof Runde elaborated on the concept of "collaborative leadership" in a highly "networked organisation".  Leaders in such organisations therefore need to be people-oriented, dynamic, global, competitive and technology savvy.  Dr Stiles stressed that the effectiveness of governance depends on relationships

not just structure.  He further elaborated that "Board effectiveness depends on the behavioural dynamics of a board, and how the web of interpersonal and group relationships between executive and non-executive directors is developed in  particular company contexts.  Creating and sustaining accountability within the boardroom is heavily dependent on the attitudes and actions of executive directors to their non-executive colleagues, the work of the chairman in creating the conditions for effectiveness, the experience, skill and judgment of directors and the manner in which they bring these to bear on the conduct of the company".  After lunch, the training participants were taken for university and city tours in Cambridge.

ARI-PBBM Integrated Training and Conference 2014 - Day Five

Day Five

 In the morning, we visited more interesting sites of London City - London Bridge, Tower of London, Albert Hall, Kensington Palace and Wembley Stadium.  Later in the afternoon, we traveled to Cambridge, a city which is about one hour away from London. The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia, on the River Cam, about 50 miles (80 km) north of London. Cambridge City has a population of about 150,000 (including 30,000 students). Cambridge is most widely known as the home of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209 and consistently ranked one of the top five universities in the

world. The university includes the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, King's College Chapel, and the Cambridge University Library. Tomorrow, we will have a whole day event at Cambridge University.  Interestingly, there is no "boundry line" between the university (the gowner) and the town (towner).  In fact, there is no specific location of what constitutes the "university campus".  The university and the city represent a unique blend of history, knowledge and development. 

ARI-PBBM Integrated Training and Conference 2014 - Day Four

Day Four

Today is dedicated for an in-house training where participants are involved in the so-called "Inter-Agency Forum -the Sharing of Best Practices of Corporate Governance of Malaysian Statutory Bodies".  Since the theme of the training program is "Untangling the Divergence", the focus of discussions is on diversity and how an institution should work on employees' strengths and expertise.  To showcase personal diversity, the participants are also introduced to the concept of personality theory.  Specifically, the model used by Florence Littauer was discussed.  In her book titled "Personality Plus", Florence Littauer introduces four personality types namely (i) Perfect Melancholy, (ii) Peaceful Phlegmatic, (ii) Happy Sanguine, and (iv) Powerful Choleric.  In Personality Plus, Florence Littauer gives us valuable insight for appreciating your one-of-a-kind, God-given personality. She includes a Personality Profile test that reveals how our unique blend of traits affects our emotions, work performance, and relationships.  More importantly, participants were encouraged to understand others, particularly their employees on these diverse personality.  After all, a successful organisation needs to work in teams. After the forum, participants were taken for London City visits.  

ARI-PBBM Integrated Training and Conference 2014 - Day Three

Day Three
Three important events have been organised for the third day of the training program: (i) visit to the UK Parliament and (2) Leadership Talk and (iii) Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and the Statutory Bodies Association Malaysia (PBBM).  At the parliament House, we were taken to both the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
We were given special briefings by two dedicated parliament guides on the roles and functions of the two Houses. In the afternoon, Tan Sri Abdul Shukor Mahfar, the Chaiman of PBBM and CEO of the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia (LHDN), together with Tan Sri Prof Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar,

Deputy Chairman of PBBM and the Vice Chancellor of UiTM, each gave a leadership talk to the participants.  Apart from the thirty training delegates, some other seventy Malaysians residing in the United Kingdom were also invited to attend the event.  Whilst Tan Sri Sahol Hamid spoke on the topic "Leading Intellectuals at a Large University: Case Study of UiTM"; Tan Sri Shukor showcased LHDN for his talk on "Smart Leadership".  Both leaders spoke of the fact that "Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience" Later in the afternoon, the two leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding to signify smart collaborations between UiTM and PBBM.  UiTM, through the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) has been appointed by PBBM to organise its training program for leaders at the statutory bodies in Malaysia.  In between the events, some researchers from ARI met up for a research discussion with Professor Paul Palmer from the Cass Business School, City University of London.  Prof Palmer is a leading researcher in the United Kingdom with respect topic related to non profit and charity organisations.

ARI-PBBM Integrated Training and Conference 2014 - Day Two

Day Two

One of the most important second day visits is to Oxford University.  Specifically, the delegates were hosted by staff and researchers at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS).  What is special about the visit is the fact that both the President and Deputy President of the Malaysian Statutory Bodies Association (APBM) are joining the delegates for the Oxford training program.  APBM's President, Tan Sri Mohd Shukor Mahfar (he is also the CEO of the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia) and Deputy President, Tan Sri Prof Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar (also the Vice Chancelor of Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia) dedicated time for the visit.  At Oxford University, we were greeted by a renown OCIS fellow, Dr Afifi, who is also a Malaysian.  Our first stop was a tour of the newly built OCIS building that is expected to be fully completed by December 2014.  Malaysia's contribution towards OCIS's new building is the new "Malaysia Auditorium" which would be able to seat 300 participants at any one event.  The auditorium truly reflects Malaysia's multiracial culture.The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is a Recognized Independent Centre of the University of Oxford. It was established in 1985 to encourage the scholarly study of Islam and the Islamic world. HRH The Prince of Wales is the Patron of the Centre. It is governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of scholars and statesmen from different parts of the world, alongside representatives of the University of Oxford.  The Centre provides a meeting point for the Western and Islamic worlds of learning. 

At Oxford it contributes to the multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary study of the Islamic world. Beyond Oxford, its role is strengthened by a developing international network of academic contacts.  After an interesting tour of the new OCIS site, the delegates were taken to OCIS current building.  There, we were met by Prof Dr Farhan, OCIS Director; Registrar, Mr Richard Makepeace and OCIS Fellows, Dr Basil and Dr Shafi Antonio.  A forum title "The Prospects and Challenges of the Islamic Finance Industry: The Roles of Scholars in Developing New Islamic Finance Products" was moderated by Dr Basil and discussed by fellows Dr Afifi and Dr Shafi.

ARI-PBBM Integrated Training and Conference 2014

Day One

We arrived London in the early morning of 9th April 2014.  A total of thirty participants have registered for the Integrated Governance and Strategic Management Training Program 2014.  The first day included London City tour and two very interesting training events:  (i) A visit and talk on "Sharing How Institute of Education (IOE), University of London became a Leading Global Reference Centre in Education" and (ii) Leadership and Personal Development Talk by Ms Katrina A. Prentice, a leading business coach in the United Kingdom.  The visit to IOE was arranged by the Malaysian Higher Education Leadership Training Academy (AKEPT). The Institute of Education is a world-leading university specialising in education and the social sciences.

Founded in 1902, the Institute currently has more than 7,000 students and 800 staff. In January 2014, the Institute was recognised by Ofsted for its 'Outstanding' initial teacher training across primary, secondary and further education.  In the 2014 QS World University Rankings, the Institute was ranked number one for education worldwide.  In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise two-thirds of the publications that the IOE submitted were judged to be internationally significant and over a third were judged to be "world leading". In the evening, after dinner at the Malaysian Student Department, the delegates welcome Ms Katrina A. Prentice for her stunning talk on "Leadership Styles of Successful and Effective Leaders".  Katrina has been designing and delivering bespoke business solutions for a broad spectrum of clients within the UK, Ireland, Europe, Africa, South Africa and the Middle East for over 15 years.

 Her dynamic, powerful and charismatic style has enabled her to lend her skills and expertise as a Business Strategist, Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Executive Coach to a variety of clients including Vice Presidents,Ambassadors and key political figures to global public listed companies, SMEs and micro-businesses. Delegates were told that typically, an effective leader would motivate his or her subordinates to work on their strengths.  Such leader often "listen more" and "read more" as a way of continously improve his or her organisation.

ARI-APBM Training Program in UK

As a result of a very successful training program in New Zealand in 2013, the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) has again been invited by the Association of Malaysian Statutory Bodies (APBM) to organise training program and this time, it is in the United Kingdom.  APBM, was established in 1984 with the aim of encouraging collaborations among statutory bodies in Malaysia. Currently, there are a total 97 members. One of the programs offered by APBM is CPD training for top managers.  This year, the training program will involve members from statutory bodies such as the Inland Revenue Board, Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), Tabung Haji, Perkeso, Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), MIDA, SME Corp, FINAS, Lembaga LADA, Malaysian Timber Industry Board, Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah, AKEPT, UMS, USM, UMT, UNIMAS and UiTM.   A memorandum of understanding between UiTM and APBM will also be signed in London.  Part of the training program will include attending an international conference co-organized by ARI, APBM, AKEPT, IPE (India), UiTM Council of Professors, University of Chullangkorn and Teesside University.  

Transdiciplinary Research Grant Scheme TRGS

Various Centres of Excellence (CoEs) at the university organised a one-day workshop to discuss possible collaboration for TRGS.  TRGS is a new research grant scheme offered by the Ministry of Education (MOE) Malaysia. Each research program under this grant scheme comprises three different research projects from three research clusters.  Essentially, the MOE has already identified eight research clusters namely: (i) Pure Science, (ii) Applied Science, (iii) Technology and Engineering, (iv) Clinical and Health Sciences, (v) Social Sciences, (vi) Arts and Applied Arts, (vii) National Sciences and National Heritage and (viii) Information and Communication Technology. Getting the CoEs to work collaboratively on TRGS was indeed a great idea. The researchers were able to discuss together on their proposed projects.  At the end of the workshops, the CoEs submitted their "Letter of Intents" to the secretariate.  The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) submitted letters of intent (LOIs) of two full TRGS programs and two sub-projects of  programs with other CoE groups.  Two ARI's full programs comprised researches related to "Detecting
Trade Mispricing as Money Laundering Tools" and "The Governance of Cooperatives as Money Laundering Mitigating Mechanisms of Cooperatives".

LRGS on Rural Transformation

Researchers from four institutions namely Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and Management and Science University (MSU) were today invited to a briefing session by the Ministry of Education (MoE).  Premised on their recent submissions of concept papers to the Long Term Research Grant Scheme (LRGS) related to niche research agenda "Rural Transformation", the researchers were given a briefing by one of the LRGS panels from the Social Science cluster - Prof Dr Normah Omar.  The researchers were basically tasked to realign their research programmes so that the research outcome could be used to facilitate government's initiatives such as the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), Economic Transformation Programme and the New Economic Model (NEM).  The group will need to present their concept papers on Rural Transformation on 15th April 2014.

Integrity Month and MOU Signing UiTM-IIM

On 1st April 2014, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) launched its Corporate Integrity Month.  Hosted by the Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS), one of the significant events included during the launching was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UiTM and the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM).  Whilst UiTM was represented by Vice  Chancellor Tan Sri Prof Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar, IIM was represented by its President Dato' Dr Mohd Tap. UiTM and IIM had forged many collaborative efforts even prior to the signing of the MoU.  The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) is a collaborative partner to the Private Sector Department of IIM in developing the Corporate Integrity System Malaysia (CISM).  Through CISM, many corporate entities have participated in the Corporate Integrity program either by signing the Corporate Integrity Pledge (CIP) or taking part in the Corporate Integrity Questionnaire Assessment.