This paper aims to present comparison of conceptual framework published by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) (fully converged with the standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). As the Islamic finance industry evolved, some scholars proposed that the Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) should have different accounting standards to serve their need to report the unique financial information needs. The research is motivated by the introduction of accounting standards by the AAOIFI to fulfill the financial reporting needs of Islamic finance industry that offered Shariah complied products and services. AAOIFI divided the objective of financial reporting into two parts, namely, objective of financial accounting and objective of financial reports. However, only a limited number of countries adapted the AAOIFI accounting standards as mandatory for their IFIs. The other 120 countries apply standards issued by IASB for their IFIs. For MASB, the objective of financial reporting is to generate useful financial information for creditors and investors. An analysis of the accounting principles outlined in the conceptual framework of the MASB shows substantial replication of the AAOIFI's conceptual framework. In the Malaysian Islamic finance industry perspective, though the regulator requires the IFIs to apply the IFRS, yet it issued relevant regulations as a guide for IFIs financial reporting and to close the gap.

The efforts towards better corporate governance practices of firms in the Malaysian capital market were started by the Securities Commission (SC) as early as 1996 in three-phased shift disclosure-based regulations (DBR). During Phase 1 (1996-1999: Flexible/Hybrid Merit Based Regime), the emphasis was to regulate on disclosure, due diligence and corporate governance. Phase 2 (January 2000: Partial DBR) still focused on corporate disclosure, due diligence and corporate governance, but included focus on promotion of accountability and self-regulation. In Phase 3 (2001 onwards: Full DBR) the SC enforced high standards of disclosure, due diligence and corporate governance as well as exercise of self regulation and responsible conduct ...

Islamic finance had a healthy double-digit growth in the last decade and an important contribution to this steady success is the increasing demand for Shariah compliant products and services from both Muslims and non-Muslims around the globe. These products and services are perceived to be more resilient in adverse economic conditions, has risk-sharing attributes and provides competitive returns to conventional counterparts. Among others, the musharakah or partnership contract is commonly applied in many investment and financing initiatives. One variation of the musharakah is the musharakah mutanaqisah (or diminishing partnership) that emphasizes on the joint ownership of the asset purchased between the bank and the purchaser (customer).

The relationship between ownership structures and company performance has been issue of interest among academics, investors and policy-makers. So far, there are still inconclusive findings that family and state ownership giving positive or negative impact on firm performance. This study employed technical efficiency and Malmquist productivity index to measure firm performance. Period of this study will be conduct from 1992 to 2007. Result of this study revealed that Technical efficiency study in Indonesia showed that state owned enterprises (SOEs) had better performance than family owned enterprises (FOEs) since SOEs' performance increased more stably during research period. Meanwhile Malaysia-based technical efficiency study demonstrated that FOEs samples had lower efficiency level than SOEs, which performed a little enhancement. In term of productivity, Indonesian FOEs had become more productive compare with SOEs during three sub-periods. On the other hand, Malaysian FOEs and SOEs had improved from time to time within the three sub-periods.

Globally, Islamic banking grew by a compound annual growth rate of 17.3 percent between 2009 and 2014. The estimated size of the industry at the end of 2014 was given at US$2.1 trillion. This total follar value of assets held by the Islamic financial institutions is less than 2 percent of the conventional banking industry; nonetheless, this is a huge achievement, considering it started from a zero base in the 1970s (Ernst & Young, 2013). Through the rate of growth has declined in recent years, the industry has nevertheless managed to grow by more than 15 percent even during the 2009 global crisis, whereas the overall banking assets remained static and economic growth in almost all countries was negative.

It is well documented in developed economies that portfolio investment across national borders brings benefits of increasing returns and/or reducing risk. Dividing MENA stock markets into two main groups (oil producing and non-oil producing countries), this study examines the potential role of each group in providing diversification benefits for international investors. In addition, the behavior of the long and the short-run Efficient Frontiers (EFs) constructed by each of the sub-groups and the combined MENA markets is explored. Multi-objective international portfolio models are proposed under Mean-Variance and Mean-Lower Partial Moment frameworks, and the Multiple Fitness Function Genetic Algorithm (MFFGA) is used to find the EFs of optimal portfolios. The findings indicate that the stock markets of oil producing countries can be considered as a potential avenue for international portfolio diversification for investors not only from the same countries but also from the other MENA markets. It was also found that international portfolios constructed from the combination of MENA equity markets are more stable compared to the portfolios of sub-group markets. Further, the findings indicate that the behavior of short-term EFs in the MENA region cannot be predicted by the behavior of long-term EFs.

The relatively new sukuk (or Islamic debt securities) markets have grown to more than US $800 billion over the past decade, and continue to grow at a rate of around 20-30 per cent per year. Arguably the first of its kind, this path-breaking book provides a unique reference tool relating to key issues surrounding sukuk markets, which are found in 12 major financial centres, including Kuala Lumpur, London and Zurich. The internationally renowned contributors present an in-depth study of sukuk securities, beginning with a comprehensive definition and history. They go on to discuss Islamic financial concepts and practices that govern how sukuk securities are issued, how markets are carefully regulated to protect investors, and how securities are designed to safeguard invested money. The prospects and challenges of developing sukuk Islamic debt markets across the world are also illustrated.

This paper examines the flow-performance relationship and the presence of "Smart money effect" in Socially responsible funds (SRFs) and Shariah compliant funds (SCFs). A survivorship bias free sample of 686 funds comprising of 212 SCFs and 474 SRFs were analysed with investment focus in the Asia pacific, Emerging markets, Europe, Global (with no focus to any specific country or region), Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and North America. The findings show that flow-performance relationship is asymmetric for both the funds as the response to positive returns is more as compare to the negative returns for the last/current year as well as the last/current month. There is also a significant presence of "Smart money effect" in both the funds for the entire sample but there is no evidence of "Smart money effect" in SRFs for the sample of old funds.

Recent success in the technology sector has witnessed the transformation of start-up companies with relatively small or no seed capital into billion-dollar companies within a very short-space of time. From the advent of taxi-hailing apps (aka Uber, Lyft and Grabcar) to accommodation (eg. Airbnb), smartphone applications and web-based platform provide the evidence of this growing phenomena. The application of technology in the financial sector has 'disrupted' the traditional 'brick-and-mortar' style distribution channels and if not embraced, would cause the current financial sector to lose a substantial portion of their businesses (estimated between 20% to 40%) to firms using 'fintech'.

Over the last few decades, the Islamic financial system has shown a strong and improved performance, where the global total assets of the industry as of end 2014 has exceeding USD2.0 trillion or a compounded annual growth rate (GACR) of 17.4% between 2009 and 2014. The Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) reported monumental issuances in sovereign sukuks by the governments of the UK, Senegal, Hong Kong, South Africa and Luxembourg ammounting to USD 115 billion.

An effective system of rules, practices and processes by which Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) are directed and controlled to ensure their business operations are Shariah-compliant, which has important implications on their reputation, Shariah governance and the future growth of Islamic finance industry. Sixteen Chairmen of the Shariah Committees of Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia were interviewed on the challenges faced in carrying out their responsibilities and theri views on effective Shariah Committees. This paper summarizes the various challenges faced by Shariah committees in Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia.