An Understanding of the Islamic Banking Industry from Customers’ Perspective

During the last decade, conventional banks faced stiff competition from Islamic bank. The main purpose of the study is to find out the customers’ perspective on Islamic banking in Bangladesh. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. For collecting primary data, a questionnaire survey was conducted among Islamic banks’ customers. Selection of respondents was based on random sampling as well as the convenient sampling method. Customer opinions were measured by a 5-point Likert scale. Customers’ perspectives have been measured with respect to various aspects (service quality, profit rate, service charge, internet banking, employee proficiency, etc.). Findings of the study reveal that the respondents think positively about almost all aspects of the Islamic bank. JEL Classification Code: G2

An Understanding of the Islamic Banking Industry from Customers’ Perspective

During the last decade, conventional banks faced stiff competition from Islamic bank. The main purpose of the study is to find out the customers’ perspective on Islamic banking in Bangladesh. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. For collecting primary data, a questionnaire survey was conducted among Islamic banks’ customers. Selection of respondents was based on random sampling as well as the convenient sampling method. Customer opinions were measured by a 5-point Likert scale. Customers’ perspectives have been measured with respect to various aspects (service quality, profit rate, service charge, internet banking, employee proficiency, etc.). Findings of the study reveal that the respondents think positively about almost all aspects of the Islamic bank

A Study of the Validity of English Language Testing at the Higher Secondary Level in Bangladesh

Validity is considered to be of paramount importance in language testing, and therefore, remains the central concept to all designs and research activities in the field of testing and assessment. Arguably, all researches in language testing are in some senses about validity and the process of validation. In this regard, it is the intent of the present research to investigate the validity of the English language tests employed at the Higher Secondary level in Bangladesh. The research questions addressed concern finding out whether the tests are valid in terms of content and construct. The tests administered at this level are ‘achievement tests’, designed to measure the extent of learning in a prescribed content domain in accordance with explicitly stated objectives of a learning program. The first objective of the study is, therefore, to examine how far the course objectives are reflected in the contents of the existing tests. Secondly, the study makes an assessment of how well these tests measure the abilities they are intended to measure. The findings reveal a great mismatch between what the tests aim at testing and what they actually test. A wide gap is found between the curriculum goals and the existing test format. The study also finds that the Higher Secondary language tests are largely unable to measure the constructs they are based on. The key recommendations to increase the content and construct validity of these tests  include developing  test specifications and designing syllabus in accordance with  course objectives, using direct tests and authentic tasks, sampling widely and unpredictably, arranging  training programs for the language teachers, etc.

The Relationship between Internal Audit Factors and the Audit Quality: Insights from External Auditors of Bangladesh

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of external auditors regarding internal audit factors on audit quality to ensure the effectiveness of the audit process. This study also measures the influence of different internal and external audit attributes on audit quality. The study is descriptive in nature and both quantitative and qualitative data have been collected and analyzed to examine the insights of external auditors concerning the impact of internal audit competency, objectivity, and work performance on the effectiveness of audit quality. This study considers a convenience sampling method in collecting data and a semi-structured questionnaire referring to possible attributes of auditing has been given to the external auditors and requested to provide their valuable judgments with seven response choices on the level of importance of each indicator for audit quality. The results of the study highlighted that audit attributes like standardization, work performance, timeliness, objectivity, and competency are highly important measures of audit quality. The results also reveal external auditors prefer educational qualifications with professional certification of internal auditors can enhance the competency function while auditors' accountability, freedom to access all financial aspects, and unconstrained communication with management will ensure the objectivity of internal auditing. According to the findings, external auditors believe that proper documentation, adequate staffing, a well-defined audit plan can improve the work performance of internal auditing. The study also recommends that the concerned shareholders and other policymakers of organizations improve the effectiveness of internal auditing for strengthening their decision-making capability to make the financial reporting accurate and error or bias-free. Keywords: Internal auditing, External auditing, Audit quality. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/13-6-08 Publication date:March 31st 202

Short Communications

The petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol crude extracts of the two different plant parts (leaves and bark) of Mirabilis jalapa (Nyctaginaceae) were screened for cytotoxicity by brine shrimp lethality bioassay and the crude methanol extract of the bark was screened for antioxidant activity using the 1, 1-diphenyl-2picrylhydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. The petroleum ether extract of the bark showed significant cytotoxic activity with the LC50 value 8.12 g/ml compared to vincristine sulphate (LC50 0.33 g/ml). On the other hand, the methanol crude extract of the bark showed mild antioxidant activity with the IC50 value 598.02 µg/ml compared to ascorbic acid(IC50 70.985 g/ml). Above results suggest moderate cytotoxic and antioxidant activity of the extract