ARI Proposal Defense

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)Johore Campus recently organized a half day proposal defense at the Segamat campus.

The rector of UiTM Johor had recently approved the appointment of several ARI Associate Fellowship positions in the campus. Themed "Islamic Financial Criminology", eight research proposals have tentatively been approved. ARI deputy directors, Prof Dr Rashidah Abdul Rahman and Associate Professor Dr Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi were at the Segamat Campus to evaluate the research proposals and to attend the proposal presentation. Congratulations all.

Outcome-Based Budgeting: OBB

In view of the country's agenda of making Malaysia a high income nation by 2020, the government has introduced the Outcome-Based Budgeting (OBB)for all government departments at the federal, state, local authority and agency levels.

Today, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) organizes a one-day awareness seminar to introduce OBB to heads of responsibility centres at the university. The university will be giving a 1-2 year transition period to all departments, faculties, state campuses and centres of excellence to implement OBB. By 2014, all budgets must be outcome-based. Outcome or Performance based budgets use statements of missions, goals and objectives to explain why the money is being spent. It is a way to allocate resources to achieve specific objectives based on program goals and measured results.

As such, OBB includes three key components: Results Based Budgeting (RBB), Results Based Performance Evaluation and Results Based Management Information System. Outcome-based budgeting differs from traditional approaches because it focuses on results rather than the input utilization - on what the money buys and the outcome of the purchase. This enables policymakers to determine what activities are cost-effective in reaching their end outcome. Successful implementation of an Outcome Based Budget framework hinges on the integration and linkage of the Budgeting process with the Performance Management processes and consistent monitoring of outcomes.

ARI Visit to Sports Commission Malaysia (SCM)

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)thank Dato' Mohd Yasin Bin Mohd Salleh, Sports Commissioner of Malaysia and his officers Mohd Nazeri Gaib and Mohd Khairol for accepting our visit this morning.

Following the enactment of the Sports Development Act 1997 (SDA 1997) on 25th September 1997, the Sport Commission of Malaysia (SCM) was established on 1st January 1998. The main vision of SCM is to develop a world-class sport administration for Malaysia. Among the main objectives of SCM are: (i) to ensure effective implementation of SDA 1997, (ii) to ensure effective implementation of sport-related government policies, (iii) to educate, monitor and regulate sport associations so as to ensure compliance of the SDA 1997 and (iv)to ensure proper sports development and governance.

In fact research on sport associations is part of ARI's current research project under its "Governance of Non-Profit Organizations" sub-cluster. Three UiTM researchers comprising Prof Dr Normah Omar and Associate Professor Dr Roshayani Arshad from ARI and Mr Badrul Hisham Hussein representing the Faculty of Sports Science & Recreation attended the meeting today. In principle, the collaborative research hopes to evaluate the NPO governance of sport associations registered with SCM.

ARI Sharing Session with UMT

The Department of Accounting & Finance, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) has invited the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) to share its experience and journey in becoming one of the country's six Higher Institutions' Centres of Excellence (HICoE) in Malaysia.

ARI was represented by Assoc. Prof Dr Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi, Deputy Director of ARI (Postgraduate & Innovation). A one-day "sharing session" was attended by researchers and lecturers from the Accounting and Finance department, UMT. The morning session was specifically dedicated for "ARI sharing session". Dr Zuraidah spoke on ARI evolution from an individual-based "special interest group" to a cluster-based research centre and finally to a HICoE. As a HICoE, ARI works in synergy with its partners by participating in collaborative research at the national and international level. Dr Zuraidah also spent some time to explain the MyRA instrument. Aspiring centre of excellence must understand the requirements of the MyRA instrument as it forms the tenet of HICoE evaluation.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon session Assoc. Prof Dr Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi shared some of her expertise in quantitative research method and statistical analysis with the participants. The session was officiated by the Assoc. Prof Dr Mohd Hassan Che Haat, the Head of Accounting & Finance Department. Also present was Dr Mohd Shaari Abd. Rahman, Deputy Dean (Academic & Students’ Affairs); Assoc Prof Dr Nur Azura Sanusi, Deputy Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) of the Faculty of Management & Economics, UMT; Dr Zalailah Salleh, Deputy Director of Center of Socioeconomic Development, UMT, and Dr Zunaidah Sulong, a representative from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin. Several research topics in the areas of Islamic Finance and Financial Criminology have been identified for possible future collaboration between ARI and UMT. The Eastcoast sea breeze is definitely a luxury opportunity for more ideas and creativity!!

Labour Day Announcement: Minimum Wage for Private Sector

This is an excerpt taken from the Sun Daily (Malaysia) dated 1st May 2012 A minimum wage of RM900 a month has been set for private sector workers in Peninsular Malaysia while their counterparts in Sabah and Sarawak will take home RM800 a month. This works out to RM4.33 per hour for those in the Peninsular while employees in Sarawak, Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan are to be paid a minimum of RM3.85 per hour. The amount is applicable to all sectors except for workers in the domestic sector such as maids and gardeners.

In making the much-awaited minimum wage announcement at a pre-Workers Day event in Dewan Perdana of the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said that the government has also set in motion mechanisms to ensure that the implementation of this will not burden employers, and at the same time not cause employees to incur losses by allowing the absorption of allowances or fixed cash payment in the calculation of minimum wage. “This is a special gift from the government to all workers in Malaysia,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak in making the much awaited minimum wage announcement at a pre-Workers' Day event in Dewan Perdana of the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) today. He said that the government has also put in place mechanisms to ensure that the implementation of minimum wage will not burden employers, and at the same time not incur losses for employees by allowing the absorption of allowances or fixed cash payment in the calculation of minimum wage.

Post Graduate Program Revisited

The Faculty of Accountancy organized a three-day workshop to discuss ways of improving its post graduate programs. Currently, the faculty offers three course-based master programs: Master of Accountancy, Master in Corporate Governance and Master in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology.

In addition, there's two research-based programs: Master of Science (Accounting) and PhD (Accounting). The Accounting Research Institute (ARI)and the Faculty of Accountancy co-offer research-based Master and PhD programs in the niche area of Islamic Financial Criminology. The Vice Chancellor of UiTM, Dato' Prof. Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar officiated the event and participated in the first session of the workshop. He shared his vision and aspirations about post graduate programs in Universiti Teknologi MARA.

ARI Visit to NCDRC

Two researchers from the Accounting Research Institute (ARI): Professor Dr Normah Omar and Professor Dr Rohana Othman have been invited by the National Child Development Research Centre

(NCDRC)of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI)to share ARI's own experiences as a Higher Institution's Centre of Excellence (HICoE). The half-day talk was attended by more than fifty participants. One of NCDRC's future aspirations is to prepare itself as a potential HICoE candidate within the next few years. NCDRC is one of UPSI's pioneer centre of excellence. Established more than ten years ago, the centre carries out education-related research,for the purpose of creating and legislating the curriculum for early childhood education and preschools.

It is also involved in parenting development programmes that provide parents with the knowledge to face future global challenges. The centre is also monitoring the implementation of the pilot programme "Anak Permata Negara" that was initiated under the management of the Prime Minister's Department and has since expanded countrywide. With a specific niche in child development, NCDRC is certainly set to become the nation's centre of excellence.

Professor of Bibliometrics

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI)thanks Prof Dr Szarina Abdullah, who is mostly known for her scholarly works in "Bibliometrics". Professor Szarina recently retired from Universiti Teknologi MARA after successfully serving the university for more than thirty five years since 1973.

Prior to her recent retirement, Prof Szarina was leading one of the university's "Vice Chancellor Special Projects - VCSP" which aims to nurture top notch writers. Various strategies to promote scholarly writings have been initiated under her leadership. Today, committee members of the VCSP project organized a simple farewell ceremony for Prof Szarina. Also present at the farewell ceremony was the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and Internationalization) Professor Dr Azni Zain Ahmed. Thanks Prof Szarina for your

impressive commitment and leadership. Her scholarly works have given a lot of impetus to researchers, particularly in enhancing our understanding towards bibliometrics. Bibliometrics is a type of research method used in library and information science. It is a set of methods to quantitatively analyze scietific and technological literature. Citation analysis and content analysis are commonly used in bibliometric methods. Through her, the VCSP committee members have learned a lot of "publication terms" such as "citation index", "citation analysis" and "impact factor analysis". We will certainly miss you.....

ARI Talk at UNITEN

Two researchers from the Accounting Research Institute (ARI)have been invited by the College of Business Administration (COBA), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) at its Muadzam Shah campus to give a talk on the evolution and role of ARI as Higher Institutions' Centre of Excellence (HICoE). The three-hour talk was presented by Assoc. Prof Dr Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi, Deputy Director of ARI (Postgraduate & Innovation) and Assoc. Prof Dr Nawal Kasim, Head of ARI's Islamic Accounting and Muamalat Research Center.

Also present in the session was Y.Bhg.Dato’ Sri Mashuri Yaacob, Vice Chancellor of UNITEN, Prof Ir Dr Ibrahim, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Dr Shaari Mat Noor, Deputy Vice Chancellor Campus KSHAS, Tn Hj Sakarno Dris, Dean of COBA and Assoc. Prof Dr Izham Datuk Zainal Abidin, Dean of College of Postgraduate Studies. About 50 participants from among UNITEN's various Centers of Excellence and lecturers in UNITEN attended the session. As a private university in Malaysia, UNITEN aspires to "upgrade" its current centres of excellence to a HICoE status. As a HICoE focussing on a specific niche research in the area of Islamic Financial Criminology ARI welcomes joint efforts and possible research collaborations with UNITEN.

Focus Group Interview at IIM

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) thanks the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM) for arranging a focus group interview session with several internal auditors in the Klang Valley. The half-day event which was held at the IIM office in Jalan Duta forms part of ARI-IIM collaborative research on the Role of the Internal Audit function to enhance corporate governance

in business organizations. Among the issues raised and discussed include risk management, performance audit, internal control system, the role of the Board of Directors, Audit Committee and Whistle Blowing policy and whistle blowing protection for employees. There's also discussions on the role of the new social media as a communication channel for employees to discuss governance issues in organizations. ARI researchers have also beeb invited to participate in the forthcoming Corporate Governance week in Bursa Malaysia at the end of May 2012.