The presentation of graphs in annual reports: The case of the KLSE corporate awards winners

Misleading graphs could be the result of annual report preparers’ ignorance, carelessness, or intention to use impression management. The graphs impair the communication effectiveness, even though this has not been tested empirically.Unfortunately, the use of the graphs appears to be widespread due to many parties (for example users, auditors, and preparers of annual reports) not familiar with the potential abuses of construction standards.The aim of this study is to determine whether annual reports by the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE, now known as Bursa Malaysia) Corporate Awards winners contain inconsistent graphs by assessing graph accuracy based on the guidelines for good graphics as set forth in previous literature and graph discrepancy index (GDI), also known as graph measurement distortion (part of impression management).The methodology used is an adaptation of the graphical guidelines developed by Schmid and Schmid (1979), Tufte (1983), Jarett and Babad (1988), Canadian Institute of Certified Accountant (CICA) (1993), Jarett (1993), and subsequently applied by Frownfelter-Lohrke and Fulkerson (2001).The GDI was calculated using a variant of Tufte’s (1983) lie factor.As far as we are aware, this is the first study in Malaysia to investigate the graph presentation in annual reports of companies that had received awards for their annual reports.It was discovered that 95% of companies in our sample used graphs, which included most of the key financial variables (KFVs) graphs, that exhibited more material overstatement (mean +61.78%) than understatement distortion (mean -45.79%), and many graphs conform to the suggested graph guidelines

Developing individual willingness to participate in organisational development: A Malaysian case study

Research has highlighted that organisational development (OD) is a complex issue as it requires the input of employees at all levels of an organisation. However, to obtain this is a challenge for organisations as the basic training and education offered by the organisations and experiences of the individuals on their own, and other factors such as fear and ignorance prevent such actions. For this purpose, other elements are also required. This research aims to identify and explain the usage of the elements that can encourage employees to contribute inputs necessary for OD. To achieve the aim, this research developed a conceptual framework based on the elements of understanding organisational roles, internal strengths, formal and informal discussion, and rational discourse. To illustrate the application of the framework in a real life setting, a case study approach that involved a large manufacturing organisation in Malaysia was employed. From this research, it was concluded that the future focus for the OD should be toward the development of staff members and creating suitable organisational culture and infrastructure so that knowledge sharing is promoted

Adoption, usage and impact of broadband: The perspective of Malaysian accountants

The aims of this study are to examine the factors affecting the adoption, the usage and impacts of broadband amongst Malaysian accountants.The data is collected using a survey approach.The findings of this study suggest that attitudinal and control constructs are significant factors in explaining Malaysian accountants’ behavioural intentions to adopt broadband Internet.In term of usage, narrowband and broadband users are significantly different in 19 out of 41 online services.On the impacts of broadband, this research suggests that adopters’ time allocation patterns differ to non-adopters for all 20 daily life activities. However, the differences are found to be significant only for one activity which is spending time with friends

Developing organizations through developing individuals: Malaysian case study

Research has highlighted that organizational development (OD) is a complex issue as it requires the input of employees at all the levels of an organization. However, to obtain this is a challenge for organizations as the basic training and education offered by the organizations and experiences of the individuals on their own and other factors such as fear and ignorance prevent such actions. For this purpose, other elements are also required. This research aims to identify and explain the usage of the elements that can encourage employees to contribute inputs necessary for OD. To achieve this aim, this research developed a conceptual framework based on the elements of understanding organizational roles, internal strengths, formal and informal discussion and rational discourse. To illustrate the application of the framework in a real life setting a case study approach that involved a large manufacturing organization in Malaysia was employed. From this research it was concluded that the future focus for the OD should be towards the development of staff members and creating a suitable organizational culture and infrastructure such that knowledge sharing is promoted

Factors Affecting Malaysian Accountants\u27 Broadband Adoption and Use Behavior

The aim of this study was to examine the factors affecting the adoption of broadband Internet in a developing country context by focusing upon Malaysia. The data relating to these factors was collected using a survey approach. The findings of this paper suggest that constructs such as relative advantage, utilitarian outcomes, service quality and primary influence are important factors affecting Malaysian accountants’ broadband adoption and Internet use behaviour. The paper proceeds to outline the research limitations and implications

Introduction to managerial accounting 1: Learning strategies to improve student performance

This book is intended primarily for students who are at the foundation stage of pursuing managerial accounting course. After many years of teaching managerial accounting to various levels of students in tertiary accounting education, we became convinced there was a need for a book with a more 'student-centered' text. The need for such approach is vital for students who are in the process of preparing for the managerial accounting examination. In line with the 'student-centered' approach, this book introduces the concept of Bloom's Taxonomy of cognitive skills in the introduction chapter. The taxonomy provides a useful structure in which to categorize test questions, since the setter will characteristically asked questions within particular levels, and if students can determine them in context of learning objectives, the candidates will be able to study using appropriate strategies. Question items on quizzes and exams can demand different levels of thinking skills. For example, some questions might be simple memorization of facts, and others might require the ability to synthesize information from several sources to select or construct a response. To facilitate students improve their learning performance and strengthen their foundation in managerial accounting this book provides learning guides, tips and strategies for students. While at the end of each chapter selected questions are posted and the question is furnished with guidance, tips and comments in line with the application of various level of Bloom's taxonomy cognitive skill together with question cues. Therefore, this book will provide guidance for students to improve their learning strategies, understand the questioning techniques and strategies posited by the examiner. In gaining this understanding, it is hoped that the students will be able to tackle the test questions and further able to provide responses to the test questions needs objectively

Accountants’ structured continuing professional education learning programs in Malaysia

Continuing Professional Education (CPE) activities are paramount for accountants. Through the CPE, accountants would be able to keep abreast with current development in the profession and thus improve or at least maintain the quality of service rendered to clients. However, there is limited study on the CPE trainings for accountants. In this study, we provide insights about the CPE events organized by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants from 2006-2008. We find that financial reporting, taxation and IT trainings top the charts of training events and most trainings were done between 1-2 days (8 hours-16 hours)

The perception of professional accountant towards the mandatory continuing professional education

Continuing professional education (CPE) is vital in the maintainance and development of knowledge and skills among professional accountant, thus ensuring they remain competent. The Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) has reported a dicouraging compliance of mandatory CPE requirement among the professional accountant in Malaysia. This study therefore intends to explore the perception of the professional accountant in practice towards the CPE programs. The respondents of this study are the professional accountants in public practice in Malaysia. The findings from this study shows that professional accountants have positive perceptions towards the CPE in terms of its usefulness, quality and ease of participation. However, they gave negative response on the cost of CPE

Elemen-elemen model tadbir urus koperasi di Malaysia

Sumbangan sektor koperasi di Malaysia kepada Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) negara masih berada pada tahap yang tidak memuaskan. Beberapa laporan menyatakan KDNK negara hanya dicapai antara 3% hingga 4% sehingga 31 Disember 2019 berbanding dengan sasaran 10% seperti yang ditetapkan dalam Dasar Koperasi Negara (DKN) 2011-2020. Berdasarkan DKN 2011-2020, salah satu pencapaian yang menyumbang kepada peningkatan KDNK adalah kawal selia dan tadbir urus baik. Strategi pencapaian yang sama diteruskan dalam cadangan teras strategik keempat DKN 2021-2030 iaitu mewujudkan kawal selia yang berkesan. Oleh itu, bagi merungkai permasalahan kajian, objektif kajian adalah mengenalpasti elemen-elemen model tadbir urus koperasi berdasarkan kepada garis panduan tadbir urus koperasi di Malaysia dan menyiasat kesan model tadbir urus koperasi berpandukan garis panduan tadbir urus koperasi terhadap prestasi koperasi di Malaysia. Kajian ini akan menggunakan kaedah penyelidikan kuantitatif untuk mencapai objektif yang telah ditetapkan iaitu teknik soalselidik dan analisis kandungan. Pengesahan model kerangka kerja kajian akan dijalankan menggunakan teknik analisis kuantitatif menggunakan perisian Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Jangkaan output kajian adalah Model Tadbir Urus Koperasi yang boleh dirujuk oleh Kementerian Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi (MEDAC) dan agensi kerajaan seperti Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia (SKM), Institut Koperasi Malaysia serta koperasi-koperasi. Hasil signifikan kajian ini dijangka boleh memberi input kepada pihak SKM berkaitan elemen-elemen tadbir urus koperasi yang baik serta dapat dijadikan sebagai maklumat tambahan untuk disebarluaskan kepada koperasi-koperasi di Malaysia. Peningkatan pencapaian tadbir urus koperasi dijangka dapat menyumbang kepada peningkatan perolehan koperasi yang seterusnya mencapai sasaran sumbangan kepada KDNK negara

Accounting undergraduates' learning perception in seeking additional professional qualification

This study explores and analyses the accounting students’ perception in seeking additional professional accounting qualification besides their accounting degree qualification.A survey analysis conducted on 52 accounting undergraduates in third year with two main questions.The first question is “why the students are seeking additional accounting professional qualification besides their degree qualification” and the second question is “why these students choose one particular accounting professional body besides others professional bodies”.The results for the first question mostly the respondents’ report that the requirement of additional accounting professional qualifications is for employment advantage.For the second question, the respondents’ preference is for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification due to its brand image, global recognition and better career opportunity.These results collected from undergraduates learning perception point of view indicates that the additional international professional accounting qualification becomes a necessity for some undergraduates for career opportunities and advancement.The accountancy degree from public institutions emphasizes on effective teaching and learning, practices students-centered learning and case base learning to groom the undergraduates with strong foundations in academic knowledge and generic skills as strategy to create work-ready graduates.The findings of this study is important for further development of public institutions to achieve academic excellence that close the gap between the degree qualification from public institutions and professional qualification from other professional bodies