Exploring practitioners` perceptions of shariah audit in Malaysia

Abstract

The Shari’ah audit, a monitoring tool for ensuring Shari’ah compliance, is an important component in the operations of Islamic financial institutions. In the case of Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia issued a Shari’ah Governance Framework in 2010 which categorically made Shari’ah audit function as one of the required functions in Islamic financial institutions in addition to Shari’ah Review, Shari’ah Research and Shari’ah Risk Management. In line with this, this study aims to explore the extent of practitioners’ awareness and perceptions of Shari’ah audit, the possible challenges associated with it as well as its future implications. The study used 83 practitioners drawn from various Islamic financial institutions and external audit firms that are involved in Shari’ah audit services through purposive sampling procedure. A questionnaire instrument was employed in generating the data. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical tools comprising of frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation due to the descriptive nature of the study. In addition, independentsample t-test was conducted between audit and non-audit practitioners to examine if there is any difference in their perceptions of Shari’ah audit. The findings of the study show that practitioners’ awareness is satisfactory as the majority of them got to know about Shari’ah audit through an educational programme, which gave them the opportunity to express what ought to be the desirable practice of Shari’ah audit. Similarly, the findings reveal that lack of an independent Shari’ah audit report, standalone Shari’ah audit framework as well as inadequate competent Shari’ah auditors are among the main concerns in the practice. Moreover, the findings also show that Shari’ah audit will have a high potential to take up as a marketable career in the near future. Lastly, the finding shows that there is no statistically significant difference between audit and non-audit practitioners in their perceptions of Shari’ah audit. Finally, the findings suggest that integration of Shari’ah audit in accounting courses in institutions of higher learning; comprehensive Shari’ah audit framework and standards; new regulatory/professional body with a mandate of supervising Islamic financial institutions as well as a professional certification in Shari’ah audit should be made available. It is hoped that the study will contribute towards the development of the desired Shari’ah audit practices in Malaysia.