Evaluating Audit Oversight Board’s Regulatory Impact: Analysis of Sanctions Imposed on Malaysian Audit Firms

This study analyzes the 12-year trend of cases involving auditor wrongdoing as disclosed on the Audit Oversight Board (AOB) Malaysia's website from 2012 to 2023. Utilizing content analysis, the research examines the nature, frequency, and severity of penalties or sanctions imposed on audit firms for various offenses. Findings indicate a dynamic pattern of regulatory actions, reflecting Malaysia's evolving landscape of audit quality and regulatory oversight. It was revealed that a total of 56 breaches of the Securities Commission Act 1993 involving 30 audit firms were reported and disclosed by the Audit Oversight Board over the period from 2012 to 2023.  The findings revealed that most misconduct cases relate to the failure of audit firms to comply with the requirements of International Auditing Standards, International Standard on Quality Control and Malaysian Institute of Accountant By-Laws. There has been a notable decrease in cases involving auditors over the past six years. This could also indicate the dedication of the AOB to monitoring auditors' conduct to prevent their involvement in malpractice. This study contributes to the understanding of audit regulation effectiveness and the behavioral patterns of auditors in response to regulatory scrutiny

CONTINUOUS CREATION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION: A REWARD AND REINFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE

Entrepreneurial orientation is important for organization’s sustainability. However, there are continuous debates discussing about organizational factors that activate entrepreneurial orientation among employees. Using data for three cement manufacturing companies in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia, this study examined the influence of reward and reinforcement in creating entrepreneurial orientation among employees. A quantitative research occupying a web based online survey was adopted in the research. Three hypotheses examining the relationship between reward and reinforcement and three entrepreneurial orientation dimensions were formulated and tested in the research. With a response rate of 70.4 per cent, the statistical finding revealed that reward and reinforcement has significant relationship with only innovativeness while it has failed to provide similar evidence of significant association for risk-taking and also pro-activeness

Development Of Low Cost Block Mold For Copper Alloy Casting

Suitable block mold formulations for copper alloy casting have been developed and the formulations used were 25% plaster of paris (POP), 75% silica sand and 31-37% water. Silica sand with a grain size of 106-212 µm was added into dilute suspension of POP and the mixing process was continued until a thick slurry (mixture) was obtained. It has been found that the mixing time of molding materials was highly depended on the type of plaster and optimum slurry viscosity around the diameter of 7.7 – 9.6 cm (slump test) was essential to ensure that the wax pattern could be fully invested. In the dewaxing process, the mold was subjected to the temperature of 170oC for 3 hours and burnout process was effectively achieved by heating the molds at 750oC for 5 hours. The pouring process was successfully carried out without any leakage and it was found that all molds can be easily broken under a force of a hammer. The developed mold also able to produce fully formed of casting without any major defects such as misrun, fin or flash and rat tail, which can be associated with inadequate mold temperature, mold cracks and the separation of mold’s material respectively

Empowering Whistleblowing Policy within Public Listed Companies: Current Practice in Malaysia

Whistleblowing is an act of disclosing any unethical or questionable act within an organization by disclosing them to individuals, the public or authorities that could influence the wrongdoing. It became an important part of the corporate governance process as such action would benefit society and the organization. With the increase in whistleblowing cases involving publicly listed companies (PLCs) by the mass media in Malaysia, there is a dearth of information on to what extent these PLCs manage whistleblowing matters. As a general practice, albeit not compulsory, many publicly listed companies disclose whistleblowing statements in their annual report. As this aspect of corporate governance for the employees is still unexplored, this study purports to explore the form of disclosure on whistleblowing policy by publicly listed companies in Malaysia for the financial year ending 2021.  This study is a content analysis of 918 annual reports of companies listed in Malaysia.  The findings reveal that most of the companies disclosed matters relating to whistleblowing policies in their Statement of Corporate Governance section, established whistleblowing policies, and mentioned the importance of whistleblowing activities within sections in their annual reports. This study focuses on companies’ annual reports. Future studies could be conducted to assess whistleblowing disclosure in other mediums such as the official websites of the companies. The study explored the aspect of corporate governance for the employee as practiced within publicly listed companies in Malaysia. The findings revealed the companies’ best practices for promoting transparency and accountability within organizations

Assessing The Working Draft Of The Hague Convention On The International Recovery Of Child Support And Other Forms Of Family Maintenance: Malaysian Shariah Perspective

This article examines some of the key provisions in the Working Draft of theHague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and OtherForms of Family Maintenance from the SharÊÑah perspective and appraises thecurrent practice of the SharÊÑah Courts in Malaysia in the light of them. PartOne of this article provides an overview on the Malaysian legal system as abackdrop to Part Two which is an analysis on the extent of application andimplications of Articles 1, 2, 3 and 15 of the said Convention from the SharÊÑahperspective. The objective is to highlight problems and to suggestimprovements and modifications to reflect international compromise

Data Envelopment Analysis: A Tool of Measuring Efficiency in Banking Sector

The present paper examined the review of literature related to measuring relative efficiency of banks using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The efficiency of banks is measure through the ability of the individual bank to maximise output given a certain level of input. By measuring its efficiency, it can serves as early warning or benchmark of its performance and it can define future improvement in various area such as managerial, technology or socio-economic. DEA is comprises of two basic model that are DEA CCR (Charnes-Cooper-Rhodes) Model with constant return to scale (CRS) assumption and DEA BCC (Banker-Charnes-Cooper) Model with variable return to scale (VRS) assumption. In banking industry, DEA is using two approaches that are production or intermediation approach. The former highlights banks as delivering services in the form of transaction and the later assumes banks intermediate funds between surplus units to deficit unit. The study of efficiency in banks with similar economic and political condition is important as banks operate in parallel. Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Efficiency, Banking JEL Classifications: G2, M2, M

Tuberculosis contact tracing in low and middle income countries: a systematic review

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health challenge especially in low- and middle-income countries reflects improper, delayed or missed diagnosis. Contact screening should be utilized both as an efficient and effective targeted approach to intensify TB case finding. Methods Through a comprehensive systematic literature review of online database, this paper aims at providing an insight into the current practice of TB contact screening and to provide evidence based practice for formulation of appropriate policies in low- and middle-income countries. There are 24 articles included in this review from studies published from 2005 to 2014. Results Findings in literature varies substantially. Generally, contact screening is better intensified with clear operational guidelines, adequate training, include close contact outside household as appropriate and follow up at least for 1 year. Prioritizing high risk close contacts is helpful in resource limited setting. Tuberculin skin test is still of value as screening tool and intensified case finding must be accompanied with effective management protocol. Prophylaxis treatment is recommended especially for children especially less than 5 years old, unvaccinated, malnourished, living with person having HIV and close contact with MDR-TB. Conclusions Policy recommendations in improving TB management must incorporate complementary strategies to enhance case finding, effective management protocol for follow up or prophylaxis treatment, training for public health capacity and concerted dedication from various stakeholders

Tuberculosis Contact Tracing in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health challenge especially in low- and middle-income countries reflects improper, delayed or missed diagnosis. Contact screening should be utilized both as an efficient and effective targeted approach to intensify TB case finding. Methods Through a comprehensive systematic literature review of online database, this paper aims at providing an insight into the current practice of TB contact screening and to provide evidence based practice for formulation of appropriate policies in low- and middle-income countries. There are 24 articles included in this review from studies published from 2005 to 2014. Results Findings in literature varies substantially. Generally, contact screening is better intensified with clear operational guidelines, adequate training, include close contact outside household as appropriate and follow up at least for 1 year. Prioritizing high risk close contacts is helpful in resource limited setting. Tuberculin skin test is still of value as screening tool and intensified case finding must be accompanied with effective management protocol. Prophylaxis treatment is recommended especially for children especially less than 5 years old, unvaccinated, malnourished, living with person having HIV and close contact with MDR-TB. Conclusions Policy recommendations in improving TB management must incorporate complementary strategies to enhance case finding, effective management protocol for follow up or prophylaxis treatment, training for public health capacity and concerted dedication from various stakeholders

Continuous creation of entrepreneurial orientation: a reward and reinforcement perspective

Entrepreneurial orientation is important for organization’s sustainability. However, there are continuous debates discussing about organizational factors that activate entrepreneurial orientation among employees. Using data for three cement manufacturing companies in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia, this study examined the influence of reward and reinforcement in creating entrepreneurial orientation among employees. A quantitative research occupying a web based online survey was adopted in the research. Three hypotheses examining the relationship between reward and reinforcement and three entrepreneurial orientation dimensions were formulated and tested in the research. With a response rate of 70.4 per cent, the statistical finding revealed that reward and reinforcement has significant relationship with only innovativeness while it has failed to provide similar evidence of significant association for risk-taking and also pro-activeness