Congratulations Dr Farah and Dr Nizam

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) congratulates two of its associates who recently achieved significant milestones in their career. Firstly, congratulations to Dr Farah Aida Ahmad Nazri who completed her PhD in Islamic Finance from the Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA.  Dr Farah untertook her PhD program under the university's Young Researcher Scheme (YRS) and will be attached with ARI as a researcher and lecturer.

Recently Dr Farah Aida also sat and successfully completed her professional examination in Enterprise Risk Management with the global body, Enterprise Risk Management Academy and received the ERMCP professional designation.  

Secondly, congratulations to Dr Md Nizam Ali, Senior Director and Chief Coordinator of Centre for Knowledge and Consultancy on Integrity at the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM), who successfully completed his PhD program at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.  

Dr Nizam is instrumental in the establishment of the Corporate Integrity System for IIM.  Through him, ARI was involved in the development of the Corporate Integrity Questionnaire - an instrument used to measure corporate integrity at workplaces.  This collaborative project between the industry and academia was very engaging.  We had at least two laboratory-style meetings at the

Securities Commission office to discuss the fundamentals of corporate integrity; several round-table discussions at IIM, presentation of the preliminary instrument to the Federation of Public Listed Companies and meetings with corporate CEOs at Bursa Malaysia, pilot testing the instrument and actual evaluation of corporate integrity at various organisations such as Celcom, TNB, KPJ, MARA, UDA and many others.  Today, the instrument has been used widely by corporations in Malaysia.

ARI Globalisation Agenda 2017

Time waits for no one.  As we are finishing the year 2016, we are also celebrating the coming of 2017.  For ARIANS,  2017's main agenda is "Globalising ARI HICoE and Advocating Research & Development in Islamic Finance and Financial Criminology". Strategic actions outlined for 2017 globalisation agenda includes: (i) Sourcing for international research grants through smart partnerships and research collaborations with agencies in OIC countries and European Erasmus program; (ii) Professional certification of ARI fellows in the strategic areas of Enterprise Risk Management from ERMA, Islamic Finance from IBFIM & IRTI, Financial Criminology from ACFE and Anti Money-Laundering specialisation from ACAMS.  Professional certifications will enable ARIANS to become specialists in Islamic Finance and Financial Criminology.  

International research collaborations and specialised trainings will certainly enhance ARI's presence globally and strengthen its financial standings in the long run; (iii) Academic publications of ARI's niche  research in Islamic Financial Criminology in Q1 & Q2

journals through international co-authorship program with reputable authors; (iv) Indexing of ARI two journals - Malaysian Accounting Review and Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Journal with SCOPUS, Thomson Reuters &  Islamic World Science Citation Database (ISC); (v) ASEAN research, training and conference organisations with universities in Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, in tandem with the spirit of the ASEAN Economic Community; (vi)

Internationalisation of ARI's four postgraduate programs - Master in Islamic Finance & Muamalat, Master in Financial Criminology, PhD in Islamic Finance & Muamalat and PhD in Finanacial Criminology to potential students of OIC countries. (vii)  Offering of Master-Class Professional certification program with global professional partners.  Inshaallah, God willing, ARIANS will bring ARI HICoE

and UiTM to greater heights.  The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will come into full force in 2017.  The Accounting Research Institute will take advantage of this governmental initiative to promote Islamic Financial Criminology as a new knowledge corpus to be reckoned with.

2016 in Memory

The year 2016 has been a great year for the Accounting Research Institute (ARI).  In tandem with ARI's aspiration to become global Higher Institutions' Centre of Excellence (HICoE) by 2018, a lot of efforts have been put into place by all ARIANs.  Thanks to all members - Research Fellows, Research Associates and Research Partners. Associate Prof Dr Jamaliah as ARI deputy director for research and networking was busy promoting ARI globally through networking collaborations with various agencies - Centre of Risk Management Academy (Indonesia); Institute of Public Enterprise (India); University of Bolton (UK); The Islamic Research and Training Institute &  King Abdul Aziz University (Saudi Arabia) and Universitas Indonesia.  She also makes sure that all research projects are progressing as scheduled and are producing the promised research output and outcomes.  

PM Dr Roshayani Arshad and PM Dr Zuraidah are both responsible in promoting ARI's postgraduate programs.  Today, ARI is offering four post-graduate programs by research - Master in Islamic Finance & Muamalat ; Master in Financial Criminology; PhD in Islamic Finance & Muamalat and PhD in Financial Criminology. Postgraduate program modules have been developed so as to ensure that students will graduate on time.  International students from Indonesia. Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh have indicated interests to embark on ARI postgraduate programs in 2017. Professor Dr Nafsiah is ARI's "ambassador" to Indonesia.  She has initiated a lot of training programs and collaborative efforts for research & development internationally.  STAR-BPKP research & training; University of Gadjahmada, Trisakti University and many others.  Prof Faizah obtained an ERASMUS grant in 2016 for three scholars with Burgas Free University.  Three more slots have been offered for 2017.  Dr Intan Salwani and Dr Shuhaida are ARI's IT experts.  They have put into placed the Online Journal System (OJS) for two ARI journals - Malaysian Accounting Review and Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Journal. Both journals are indexed and we hope to submit both journals for SCOPUS and Thomson Reuters indexing by the end of 2017. Associate Professor

Dr Nawal and Associate Professor Dr Abdul Halim are research leaders for ARI's research in Islamic Finance. They have embarked international research collaborations with Islamic Finance Scholars in the Philippines, Indonesia, Morocco, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.  Formal collaborations will be forged through Memorandum of Understanding and Memorandum of Agreement. Dr Balkish, Dr Azmi and Dr Farah Aida will soon be our experts in Enterprise Risk Management as they are undertaking professional certifications with the global's Enterprise Risk Management Academy (ERMA).

Dr Norazida is now on a 15-month sabbatical attachment with the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia (IRBM).  She will further strengthen our professional collaboration with that agency.  Dr Yang Chik, our law expert has been involved with many law-related initiatives including getting involved with the exposure drafts of the upcoming Companies Act amendments and other corporate governance-related proposals.  ARI welcomes our newly appointed research fellows - Associate Professor Dr Ayub Md Som (Chemical engineering), Professor Dato'Mustaffa Md Zain and Associate Professor Dr Erlane who will be tasked with spearheading the transdiciplinary aspects of ARI research projects.  Whilst Dr Ayub's specialisation is in Decision Support System, Prof Mustafa is a leading researcher in Corporate Social Responsibility.  Dr Erlane is an expert in the "Internet of Things".

 Our post-doctoral scholars Dr Shamimul Hassan and Dr Soheil Kaziman have been ARI's great assets in 2016 and beyond.  They have published in many indexed journals with ARI fellows as co-authors.  They have also initiated potential research and publication collaborations in Bangladesh and Iran respectively.

As a result of these hardworks and smart collaborations, ARI has received many research recognitions and accolades in 2016: Six gold awards from ITEX 2016; Global Islamic Finance Awards for "Best Research & Development in Islamic Finance 2016"; ACQ's "Islamic Financial Criminology Research Body of the Year for Second Consecutive Year 2016"; Gamechanger Online Magazine UK award for "Gamechanger Award 2016" and "ASEAN Risk Awards 2016" from the Enterprise Risk Management Academy (ERMA).  Almost all ARIANS have achieved the stipulated KPIs for 2016.  Congratulations and great job everyone.

ASEAN Risk Awards 2016 for ARI

Congratulations Accounting Research Institute (ARI) for being accorded the ASEAN Risk  Awards 2016 under the category "Risk Educator" during a recent event held at the Sofitel Hotel in Bali Indonesia, in conjunction with the BALIERM 2016 international conference.

The ASEAN Risk Awards 2016 is held to appreciate ASEAN’s achievements, innovation, and leadership in Risk Management through the risk leaders. With this event, Risk Management success stories from those risk leaders will be spread throughout ASEAN to regional audiences. There is no boundary on how big the company size is, what kind of industry they are in, and from which country they are from.  Companies and universities from ten ASEAN countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar are eligible to participate.   Entry Eligibility for the ASEAN Risk Awards are as follows:

• The ASEAN Risk Awards is open to all organizations with a formal and legal presence in South East Asia.
• There is no limit to the number of nomination entries or the number of categories you may submit and enter.
• The organizer assumes that all entries are original and have been granted an official permission from the nominated organization. In the event that a nomination is entered without such rights, the entrant will not be eligible for the awards evaluation.
• The ASEAN Risk Awards is not liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant.
• The work and credentials that are submitted to the Awards must have been in place for at least part of the 2016 calendar year.
• The nomination form and the supporting information will be the sole basis for the nomination.
• Nomination entries are only accepted through the available online nomination form. All nominations received through any other form will not be considered.

Risk leaders from various countries in ASEAN have been working hard to improve Risk Management field through their works. All this time, their achievements are proofs that ASEAN risk leaders are always pursuing to a higher level for the sake of their companies as well as for the region. The main organiser for this event is the Enterprise Risk Management Academy (ERMA).  ERMA is a global learning center for professionals and practitioners in the field of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), and was established to facilitate collaboration efforts of ERM professionals and practitioners around the world, promoting and practicing ERM at their workplace.  ARI has been recognised for its research and training in the area of financial risks due to financial leakages, fraud, corruption in money laundering,

Successful International Visits to Dubai and Iran

The Accounting Research Institute thanks Professor Dato' Dr Mustaffa Zain and his team for their successful recent international visits to Dubai and Iran.  In Dubai, they attended the Global Academy of Training & Research (GATR) in collaboration with various National and International Universities and Publishers.  Themed "Contemporary Issues in Business And Social Sciences Research: A Dubai Initiative", ARI team managed to get their papers accepted for publication in several SCOPUS and ERA-indexed journals.  In Iran, the team visited two universities, namely Payam Noor University and Imam Reza University.  They were also invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian Embassy in Tehran.  The Education attache of the Iran Embassy in Malaysia will be organising memorandum of understanding between Universiti Teknologi MARA and Top 10 universities in Iran sometime in April 2017. Dato' Dr Mustaffa was heading the delegation comprising ARI fellows and associates and officers from several statutory bodies who are members of the Association of Malaysian Statutory Bodies (Persatuan Badan-Badan Berkanun Malaysia, PBBM).  The visit has received a  lot of attention from many Iran universities and other government agencies and there were reports of the visits that appeared in Iran's mainstream newspapers and television stations.  ARI also thank Dr Soheil Kaziman, our post-doctoral scholar who is from Iran.  He was responsible for arranging the logistics including places to visit and meetings with the right people in Iran.  Dr Soheil was a PhD student at the Faculty of Accountancy and stayed back to do his post-doctoral training at ARI.  Iran is also home to the Islamic Citation Centre (ISC).  In 2008, the 57 member countries of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have approved the creation of an Islamic Citation Centre (ISC) to be based in Iran.  

Basically, the ISC will manage a Science Citation Index similar to that of Thomson Reuters Scientific, which will analyse research performance in Islamic countries with the aim of improving research output and impact. The index will rank Islamic countries' scientific publications, introduce quantitative and qualitative measures for journals, and produce analytical reports on the status of universities, research institutions and technology centres by looking at their research productivity, impact and excellence.  It is our aspiration that some of UiTM journals will be indexed with ISC.  Well done team, you have done us proud. 

UiTM in Top 300 listing of BRICS and Emerging Economies University Rankings 2017.

Congratulations Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) for making its maiden entrants to the top 300 listing of BRICS and Emerging Economies University Rankings 2017. 

This is exceprt from the Malaymailonline dated 1st December 2016:

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — Three local universities broke into the top 100 of the Times Higher Education (THE) BRICS and Emerging Economies University Rankings 2017, signalling further progress since seven such institutions placed in the World University Rankings 2016. According to the new survey,  Universiti Putra Malaysia was 89th, a 14-place from climb from its previous ranking, in the assessment involving 300 universities from 50 countries from developing countries as well as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that from the BRICS.

Other Malaysian universities that made the top 100 are Universiti Teknologi Petronas (91) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (100). Universiti Sains Malaysia was 114th and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia was 136th while Universiti Utara Malaysia made it within the 201-250 band and Universiti Teknologi MARA,  the 251-300 band. UTP, UUM and UiTM are maiden entrants to the list.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/three-malaysian-universities-make-the-top-100-brics-list#sthash.DoaJtjk0.dpuf

Congratulations to ALL AKNC Finalists

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) congratulates all finalists of the Vice Chancellor Quality Awards (Anugerah Kualiti Naib Cancelor or fondly known as AKNC) of Universiti Teknologi MARA.  Basically, AKNC is the award for the attainment of performance excellence among the Responsibility Centres (PTJ) in UiTM highlighting their best practices. 

ARI Director, Professor Dr Normah Omar is one of the six jury panels for AKNC 2016 which is headed by UiTM Vice Chancellor, Professor Emeritus Dato'  Dr Hassan Said.  Other jury panels are namely Prof Dr Abdul Rahman Omar, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation); Professor Dr Zaini Abdullah, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Industry, Community and Alumni); Professor Dr Roziah Janor, Assistant Vice Chancellor (InQKA) and Datin Rosmawati.  The AKNC award finalists are grouped into three classifications: Faculties, State Campuses and departments. The competition is coordinated and organised by The Institute of Quality and Knowledge Advancement, or InQKA.

  

Representing the faculties are Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Electrical Engineering.  The departments are represented by the Reistrar Office, the Treasury Department and the Students Affairs Department.  Meanwhile, finalists from state campuses are from Perak, Pahang and Melaka. 

Two More Q1 Publications for ARI, Congratulations

Congratulations are in order for two senior research fellows at the Accounting Research Institute (ARI): Professor Dr Nafsiah Mohammed and Associate Professor Dr Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi for getting their research papers accepted for publication in Q1 journals.  
Professor Dr Nafsiah with two other authors from UiTM Sarawak (Dr Corina Joseph and Mariam Midin) wrote a paper titled "Promoting Societal Governance: Stakeholders'Engagement Disclosure in Malaysian Local Authorities'Websites" in the Q1 journal Journal of Cleaner Production.  Meanwhile, Dr Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi article titled "Effects of Goal Orientation, Self-Efficacy and Task Complexity on the  Audit Judgement Performance of Malaysian Auditors" has been accepted to be published in a Q1 journal - Accounting. Auditing and Accountability Journal.

Three other co-authors of the paper are namely Professor Gary Monroe of New South Wales (UNSW) university, Australia, Professor Dr Norman Salleh from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Professor Dr Takiah Mohd Iskandar from the Accounting Research Institute.  Well done to both of you.  Both papers will be counted as part of ARI's publications in Q1 journals for our niche research agenda in Islamic Financial Criminology

Congratulations and Well Done Prof Dr Nafsiah Muhammad

The Accounting research Institute (ARI) acknowledges and thank Professor Dr Nafsiah Muhammad for a very successful recent networking visits to Indonesia.  There were three very important agendas during her visit:  First was the co-organisation of the first Comparative Asia-Africa Governmental Accounting

Conference (CAAGA) in Jakarta.  Themed "Comparison of Good Government Governance Between Asian and African Countries", Prof Dr Nafsiah was one of the keynote speakers.  At ARI, Prof Dr Nafsiah is currently heading the Public Sector Accounting Research Centre.

Second was the meeting with the Supervisory and Financial Development Board  or the Badan Pengawasan Keuangan dan Pembangunan (BPKP) to discuss BPKP-UiTM/ARI Training & research programs.  To date, BPKP has sent three cohorts of its STAR students and staff for on the job training in various government agencies in Malaysia. STAR, which stands for State Accountability Revitalization is an activity initiated by the government of the Republic of Indonesia to strengthen the financial accountability of the state.

 The STAR program aims towards improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the financial management function of the public sector through the strengthening of institutions or government institutions through the implementation of staff scholarships program for formal education at S1 (Bachelor) and S2 (Master) levels.   The discussions include among others the proposed plans for 2017.  Third was a site visit to BPKP training centre at Bogor. Professor Dr Nafsiah also discuss the possibility of organising a research and publication training workshops in Bogor for other STAR participants in Indonesia. The Accounting Research Institute and Universiti Teknologi MARA thank BPKP for a great hospitality provided for Professor Dr Nafsiah and her team during the visit.  Both agencies are now working towards the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement for future international collaborations. 

Congratulations Professor Emeritus Dr Takiah

Members and staff of the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) congratulate our distinguished research scientist Dr Takiah Iskandar for recently being conferred her Emeritus (or Emerita) Professor status by the Faculty of Economy and Management of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).  Professor Takiah has served UKM both as a lecturer and as dean of the faculty of economy and management.  Her expertise and research interests are in the areas of auditing and corporate governance. At ARI, Professor Takiah is heading one of ARI's research clusters within the Islamic Financial Criminology research niche.  Professor Takiah is a prolific researcher and writer.  She has authored more than one hundred journal papers.  To date her accumulated citations stand at 748 with a personal "H-Index"of 14. This is certainly a commendable standing, Congratulations and well done Professor Emerita Dr Takiah Iskandar.  We are very proud of you. 

Empowering Middle Class Financial Freedom

Professor Dr Normah Omar was today invited to give a professional talk entitled "Empowering Middle Class To Achieve Financial Freedom" to officers from the Retirement Advisory Services (RAS) unit of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) at  EPF Learning Centre in Bangi.  RAS is part of EPF's long-term plans to enhance service delivery that aims to help members achieve a sustainable retirement, for those nearing retirement or the newly retired.  Members will be given guidelines and options to help them manage and grow their EPF savings.  

RAS also has awareness and education programmes on basic financial and retirement planning.  Participants were exposed to important concepts such as active and passive income.  Budget 2016 defines Malaysia’s middle class (also known as M40) as those 40% Malaysian whose household monthly income ranges between  RM3.860 to RM8,319.   Passive income is an income received on a regular basis, with little effort required to maintain it. The American Internal Revenue Service categorizes income into three broad types, active income, passive income, and portfolio income.  Examples include book royalties and dividend-paying stocks. Investopedia defines passive income as "earnings an individual derives from a rental property, limited partnership or other enterprise in which he or she is not actively involved."

Promoting Research with Impact

Research impact is, in general, the effect research has beyond academia. Research Councils UK (RCUK) for example, defines research impact as 'the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy'. This can involve academic impact, economic and societal impact or both:

(i) Academic impact is the demonstrable contribution that excellent social and economic research makes in shifting understanding and advancing scientific, method, theory and application across and within disciplines; (ii) Economic and societal impact is the demonstrable contribution that excellent social and economic research makes to society and the economy, and its benefits to individuals, organisations and/or nations.  The impact of research, be it academic, economic and social can include:

1. Instrumental: influencing the development of policy, practice or service provision, shaping legislation, altering behaviour; 2. Conceptual: contributing to the understanding of policy issues, reframing debates and 3. Capacity building: through technical and personal skill development.  At the Accounting Research Institute, research impact relates to its ability to make a difference - to the society, the policy makers and human kind.  The New Straits Times newspaper in its Learning Curve column provides a good illustration of what research impacts constitute.  Included in the write ups is ARI's research niche agenda in Islamic Financial Criminology under the heading "Advancing Knowledge for the Common Good". Congratulations all ARIANs. 

Economic Transformation Program for Asnaf

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) in collaboration with the Sultan Mizan Foundation or the Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan (YDSM) and Mydin Holding Berhad initiated an economic transformation program for the Asnaf and single mothers in Terengganu in 2014. Pusat Jahitan Baju Kurung specializes in producing the national dress for Malaysia.  The Sultan Mizan Foundation with the sponsorship of large government linked companies (GLCs) equipped the centres with sewing machines and other tailoring equipment.  As a party to the program, Mydin Holding Berhad supplies raw materials in the form of textiles and other tailoring materials and buy-back the finished products at bulk prices.  Two centres have been set up respectively in Kuala Terengganu and Paka. Each centre accommodates around 20-25 participants.  

The participants, who work in groups  produce at least 500 pairs of baju kurung weekly.  One of the main challenges often faced by small entrepreneurs is to find sustainable customers.  The ready-market concept offered by Mydin Holding Berhad allows the participants to produce quality products.  ARI provides financial management and other governance-related training to the participants. The program targets a period of two years for the participants, after which they are encouraged to manage their own little business. Congratulations all ARIANs.

Grantsmanship Workshop at Curtin University

Recently, three grant assessors from the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) and one from the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MOSTI) were invited by Curtin University Sarawak Campus in Miri to give a one-day "Grantsmanship Workshop".  The four assessors were namely Professor Dato' Nik Muhammad from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Professor Dr Norhamidi from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Professor Dr Normah Omar from Universiti Teknologi MARA and Dr Sharon Teh from University College Tuanku Abdul Rahman. The one-day workshop invited grant applicants from the university who were reasonably well-versed in preparing an application according to the various guidelines given by competitive grant schemes. What is less known and which needs revealing, is how assessors in technical panels at the national KPT and MoSTI levels scrutinize, cull, shortlist and pick winning applications individually and as a panel. Since the speakers were all from different areas of expertise, they were able to share their experiences on the "do's and don'ts" of  grant application.  Highest on the list is the need for researchers to showcase and highlight new research areas that are in tandem with government initiatives and that can support Malaysia's aspiration to become a developed and high income nation. About sixty aspiring researchers attended the workshop and there were a lot of questions raised during the Questions & Answers session.  All in all it was a great event.  Thank you Curtin University for the invitation.

Hall Full of Masters Graduates -Congratulations

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) congratulates all graduates who successfully completed their respective Masters programs and received their scrolls from Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) YBhg Tan Sri Dato' Seri Utama Arshad Ayub, at a grand convocation ceremony held at the Dewan Agung Tuanku Cancelor (DATC) in the university.  In particular, ARI is happy to see the graduates from the Master in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology program at the Faculty of Accountancy receiving their scrolls today.  Congratulations to all and well done. 

i – Corporate Ethical Identity Indexing System into top 16 IF- INNOFEST 2016

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) congratulates UiTM Team whose innovative product titled "i – Corporate Ethical Identity Indexing System" has proceeded as one of the top 16 of the Islamic Finance INNOFEST 2016.  Associate Professor Dr Roshima Haji Said from UiTM Kedah Campus heads UiTM delegation.  Professor Dr Normah Omar, director of  ARI 

is a member of that team. Themed "ENERGISING INNOVATION IN ISLAMIC FINANCIAL SERVICES",  IF InnoFest 2016 seeks to create a platform that brings together industry, regulatory bodies & universities to develop and implement breakthrough ideas and innovative solutions in Islamic Finance (IF).  The four main objectives of this event are (1) To provide a platform to trigger and initiate innovative ideas for Islamic Finance; (2) To transform research into implementable outcomes; (3) To forge continuous university-industry synergy, and (4) To enhance university-university collaboration in Islamic Finance.  UiTM team has been asked to participate in the poster presentation and pitching on 24th November 2016.  The event is jointly organised by INCEIF, Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) and Takaful Malaysia Association.  IF- INNOFEST 2016 is supported by Bank Negara Malaysia.  Congratulations and good luck team UiTM. 

UiTM 85th Convocation - Congratulations

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) congratulates all seventy UiTM PhD graduands who received their scrolls today from  DYMM Tuanku Chancellor, Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Muádzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah.  In particular, congratulations to three PhD graduates from the Faculty of Accountancy who have been co-supervised by ARI fellows: (i) Dr Ahmed Abdullah Saad Al-Dhubaibi with thesis title ""The Effects of Management Accounting Practices on Firm Performance: Antecedent Factors and the Role of Managerial Functions", supervised by Prof Dr Ibrahim Kamal Abdul Rahman,  Associate Professor Dr Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi and Associate Professor Dr Indra Devi Kandasamy;

(ii) Dr Norazlina Binti Ilias, "Management Control Systems and Performance: Evidence from Malaysian Local Authorities", supervised by Associate Professor Dr Nik Kamaruzaman Hj Abdul Latif and Professor Dr Nafsiah Mohamed; (iii) Dr Azmi Binti Aminuddin, "Ünderstanding Enabling Levers of Control (LOC) in Malaysian Local Government: The Case of LGKV and LGER", supervisors - Professor Dr Nor'Azam Mastuki and Professor Dr Nafsiah Mohamed.

Leadership Talk Series at AKEPT

The one-day 6th AKEPT Leadership Talk Series 2016 was successfully held today at the Higher Education Leadership Academy campus in Bandar Enstek. About two hundred participants comprising academic leaders attended the event.  Some interesting programs of the Talk Series included two key-note speeches.  The first talk titled Transformative Higher Education Leadership: Anticipating the Game Changer was delivered by YBhg. Datuk Ir. (Dr) Abdul Rahim Hashim, Vice Chancellor Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.  This session was moderated by YBrs. Prof. Madya Dr. Mohd Rushdan Mohd Jailani, Deputy Director Centre for Academic Leadership, AKEPT.  The second talk titled Shaping Higher Education for 21st Century was delivered by YBhg. Prof. Datuk Dr. Noor Azlan Ghazali, Vice Chancellor Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.  YBrs. Prof. Madya Dr. Zafir Khan Mohamed Makhbul, Deputy Director Centre for Knowledge Circle, AKEPT moderated the session. The afternoon session was a forum titled Leadership by Design: Strengthening Integrity in Higher Education.  The forum was moderated by YBhg. Prof. Dato’ Noor Aziah Mohd Awal, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Student & Alumni Affairs) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).  

Four panelists tasked to discuss the topic included (1)  Prof. Dr. Zulkiple Abd Ghani, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic & International) Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, (2) YBhg. Prof. Emeritus Dr. Tengku Mohd Tengku Sembok, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic & International) Universiti Pertahanan Nasional    Malaysia, (3) YBhg. Prof. Dr. Yang Farina Abdul Aziz, Professor, FASc FMIC Faculty of Science and Technology Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and (4) YBhg. Prof. Dr. Normah Omar, Director Accounting Research Institute (ARI) Universiti Teknologi MARA.  Following the Forum was a speech by YB Dato’ Seri Idris Jusoh, Minister of Higher Education.  The session was moderated by YBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd  Noordin Chairman, Board of Advisors Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT). This was followed by a dialogue between the minister and the participants.  The day's event were concluded with the launching of AKEPT's Leadership book series by the minister.  Congratulations AKEPT for providing a great platform to train and nurture future leaders for Malaysia's Higher Education sector.