IDSeries VII discusses the differences between IFRS and AAOFI's financial standards

22nd May 2009

INCEIF's Seventh Intellectual Discourse Series (ID Series VII) today discusses on the issues of the applicability of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on Islamic financial institutions. It also looks at the efforts by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) in developing an alternative set of financial reporting standards to accommodate the needs of the growing Islamic financial services industry.

En Nik Hasyuden

"The Islamic financial industry needs a corresponding alternative set of accounting standards which can at best be harmonised, not standardised due to the different nature and activities of the Islamic banks and financial institutions. These standards already exist, developed by AAOIFI. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) should reconsider its position and allow alternatives- live and let live, just as there is a need for differential reporting requirements for small and medium businesses," says Associate Professor Dr. Shahul Hameed Mohamed Ibrahim of INCEIF's Department of Finance and Accounting

Dr. Shahul, a qualified accountant, moderated the ID Series VII at Bank Negara Malaysia today.

Key speaker Nik Mohd Hasyudeen Yusoff of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) says that the IFRS were developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) as a single set of high quality, understandable and internationally-recognised financial reporting standards.

"The IFRS concept and operational model demonstrates the ability of Shariah-compliant structures to co-exist with the conventional framework," he notes, highlighting that as Islamic finance transactions are backed by productive assets, structured through contracts within the same legal framework with conventional transactions, there is no likelihood that such transactions cannot be accounted for using the IFRS.

The MIA President stresses that in any occasion, the contracts entered into by the parties should ensure that the principles of Shariah are complied with.

Commending the efforts of AAOIFI, Mr. Nik Hasyudeen suggests the Bahrain-based organisation to consider working with and compliments IASB in ensuring the convergence incorporates the Islamic finance agenda.

"This does not mean that IFRS is perfect and the accounting standards developed by AAOIFI are inferior," he says adding that serious participation in the development and enhancement of the IFRS by promoters of Islamic finance could influence the acceptance of the values and principles promoted by Islamic finance into the IFRS.

The AAOIFI standards are not intended to fully replace the IFRS but merely cover those standards and transactions that IFRS does not. In most cases the differences between the IFRS and AAOIFI's standards are more apparent than real.

IASB's refusal to recognise the AAOIFI standards has resulted in Islamic financial institutions in countries such as Bahrain which adopts the latter's standards, having to have their financial statements qualified by auditors who are affiliated to IASB. Auditors affiliated to IASB through the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) are obligated to enforce IFRS.

IFRS is currently mandatory for all domestic listed entities in 85 countries and encouraged in 113 countries including Malaysia. The AAOIFI's standards, which have yet to be widely accepted, are seriously being considered by countries in the Gulf and Malaysia. It was recently reported that the proponent of the IFRS will be in talks with Islamic finance authorities to modify the existing system to accommodate the Islamic financial services industry.

IASB Board Member Robert Garnett was quoted as saying that there might be differences between the standards issued by the two bodies but they could be resolved through critical judgement.

Mr. Nik Hasyudeen says the Financial Reporting Standards Implementation Committee (FRSIC) model in facilitating IFRS implementation can be replicated in applying IFRS on Islamic finance transactions. FRSIC is a committee formed by the MIA to provide assistance on matters of common interest relating to accounting standards by way of providing implementation guidance.

He concludes that standard-setting bodies such as the MIA, Islamic Financial Services Board, Malaysian Accounting Standards Board as well as education and research institutions such as INCEIF and ISRA could consolidate resources, expertise and knowledge to facilitate further understanding and development of solutions in this area.

Mr. Nik Hasyudeen was joined by two commentators Mr. Mohammad Faiz Azmi, Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Dr. Syed Musa Alhabshi, Principal Consultant with Amanie Business Solutions Sdn Bhd.

ID Series VII is an on-going forum with an objective of encouraging an exchange of ideas among academia and practitioners on the current issues facing the Islamic financial services industry.

Articles from INCEIF

Limkokwing creativity grooms ICT-savvy talents

An advocate of creativity and innovation since the 1970s, the Limkokwing University of Creativity Technology (LUCT) is taking the lead by producing graduates equipped with the right skills and capabilities to drive the ICT industry and their careers.

ICE- a way of life

Information technology is very much a part of everyday life: the computer occupies a central position not only in business organisations but increasingly in fields as diverse as manufacturing to space exploration and banking.

This has created a wealth of opportunities for Malaysia, which is moving into a high-income and innovation-driven economy, one area that well-qualified ICT graduates are able to provide the momentum to propel it.

Geared for success

The LICT Faculty of Information and Communication Technology offers internationally-recognised BSc degrees including Mobile Computing, Games Technology and Business Information Technology, as well as postgraduates studies in Computer Networking and Communication. Delve into the exciting world of ICT where you will get to learn all you’ve ever wanted to know about:

• Games Programming
• Digital Modelling and Animation
• Artificial Intelligence
• Interactive Multimedia
• Real-Time Systems
• Internet Security Knowledge
• Grid Computing

High-flying ICT careers

The programmes are tailored to ensure graduates are industry-ready and able to blend in with different cultures and nationalities, making them attractive to potential employers.

Some of the career options one would consider as an ICT graduate would be:

Chief Information Officer (CIO)
A CIO heads the IT group within an organisation, and usually reports to the chief executive officer (CEO). You will be the visionary ICT leader, spearheading ambitious projects that will enhance the growth and business strategy of the organisation and will be responsible for the overall strategic direction and management of the organisation’s IT infrastructure.

Security Analyst
As the person ensuring the security of the organisation, you will have to be privy to security breaches and network intrusions. The guardian of the ICT hardware and software, you handle all security documentation and assess the suitability of new technologies on existing or planned systems.

Analyst Programmer
This role requires knowledge of a variety of programming languages. If you’re good at programming, you will enjoy installing, designing, modifying, testing and writing programmes, and supporting work teams and solving problems with software.

Blending the world’s diverse cultures

The Limkokwing campus in Cyberjaya is an experience unlike any other. Students from all over the world converge, making it a dynamic multicultural environment with 70% of the 9,000 students coming from over 160 countries worldwide.

The university has some 30,000 students studying in its 12 campuses in Botswana, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lesotho, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. A big part of its appeal is the university’s innovative brand of creative education that merges the best of East and West education.

Experience London

In a rapidly developing world, the learning experience today has to include exposing young people to global business trends and innovation.

London - one of the world’s most vibrant and lively cities - is the heart of Limkokwing’s Global Research Centre for Creativity and Innovation.

Located in the heart of thriving Piccadilly, the campus provides students a unique opportunity to cross over to nearby locations for research in business, design, multimedia or any other fields of study.

An ICT student now has an opportunity to graduate with two awards, one Asian and one British. This is an exclusive route for Limkokwing students to spend their final year or semester in London, enabling them to obtain a Limkokwing award and a second credential from Anglia Ruskin University of Cambridge or University of Gloucestershire, UK.

Articles from Lim Kok Wing University

INSANIAH Kini Menawarkan Kursus Sarjana Perbankan dan Kewangan Islam Secara Online

16 Mei – Kolej Universiti Insaniah dengan kerjasama Islamic Research and Training Institute yang berpusat di Jeddah telah mengadakan majlis pelancaran bagi kursus Masters in Islamic
Finance and Banking atau singkatannya MIFB melalui sidang video yang diadakan antara Alor Setar dan Jeddah.


Rektor Insaniah, Dato’ Dr Jamil Osman telahpun menyempurnakan ucapan pelancaran mewakili Insaniah manakala mewakili IRTI pula adalah Yang Mulia Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, Presiden bagi Kumpulan IDB, telah memberikan ucapan beliau. Dengan itu, bermulalah fasa baru dalam pengajian peringkat sarjana di KUIN iaitu secara online.


Bagi yang berminat untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut mengenai kursus ini, sila layari laman web .
www.mifb.insaniah.edu.my


Article from KUIN

Curtin Sarawak to ‘Ignite the Spark’ in youth at MDeC-Curtin ICT Career Camp

Miri – 10 March 2011 – Secondary school students attending the MDeC-Curtin ICT Career Camp at the Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) campus this weekend can expect a most exhilarating time.  

The 2-day camp from 12 to 13 March is being organised by Curtin Sarawak’s Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and University Life departments and the Curtin Young Associates (CYA), the university’s exclusive club for secondary school students.

It is supported and sponsored by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), the agency responsible for the management of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC Malaysia).  

The theme of the camp is Ignite the Spark and is focused on the development and marketing of mobile application systems. There will be workshops that will guide participants on how to use mobile application development software and give them pointers on packaging and marketing their final products.

According to University Life Officer Ansovinus Bonus Chai, the aim of the ICT Career Camp is to encourage students to engage in an ICT (information and communication technology)-based competition, in this case mobile application development. This is in line with the national agenda of promoting technopreneurship among Malaysians and steering them towards an ICT career path.

 “We are not revealing the development software we will be using for the moment to keep the participants in suspense until the camp starts. They can be assured that the software has been tested extensively with our own students and found to be relatively easy to grasp and use,” said Terence Tan, an award-winning ECE senior lecturer and facilitator of the camp.

“The usage of smart gadgets like smartphones and tablets today is simply phenomenal, and every day, there is a growing need for bright and creative minds to develop more advanced applications to satisfy the demand of consumers. This camp will be an opportunity for our local students to explore the immense potential in technology development today,” added Tan.

In thanking MDeC for its sponsorship of the event, University Life Manager Haslina Abdul Malek said, “We are pleased to work with MDeC, which is a very strong supporter of events to create more awareness to ICT careers, especially in Sarawak.”

According to Haslina, there will be ice-breaking and teambuilding activities In between the workshops run by Curtin E-Fact, a student volunteer group that provides learning support to local students. This is aimed at developing group dynamics as the participants will be divided into several working teams.

In addition, the camp facilitators will coach the participants on presentation skills which they are expected to apply during the team project presentations at the end of the camp. The teams with the best applications and marketing pitches will be awarded cash prizes - RM500, RM300 and RM200 for the first, second and third-placed teams respectively.

Judging will be carried out by a panel comprising Siti Hajar Awaliah Binti Hassan, an executive of the K-Workers Development Department under the Capacity Development Division of MDeC; Associate Professor Dr Ashutosh Kumar Singh, Head of the ECE Department; and Suresh Reuben, an ECE lecturer and one of the camp facilitators.

The collaboration between Curtin Sarawak and MDeC will extend beyond the ICT Career Camp. Curtin Sarawak and MDeC will jointly organise an ICT talk for students in Miri next month, which will be on a considerably larger scale than this ICT Career Camp. In addition to creating an awareness of ICT career pathways available, the event will showcase some final year projects by ECE students of Curtin Sarawak to give the participants a better idea of what ICT involves.

Articles about Curtin University of Technology

FSTEP Launches Its New Website

Kuala Lumpur, 13 March 2009 – The Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme (FSTEP) today launched its new website at www.fstep.org.my. The website is designed to enhance the brand and presence of FSTEP, a pioneering programme developed by the financial services industry in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia to support the human capital requirements of the financial services industry.

The website, launched by the Chief Executive Officer of Institut Bank-Bank Malaysia Dr Mohd Kamal Khir today, will serve as a source of information about FSTEP. It also features activities of its participants since the commencement of FSTEP in December 2007.

“The website is in line with the objective of FSTEP in reaching out to calibre graduates and Malaysian students who are studying abroad,” said Mohd Kamal at the launch of the website today.

Moving forward, the content of the website will be continuously enhanced to serve as a communication channel for FSTEP to its potential participants as well as its existing participants. The launch of the website is timely as FSTEP is stepping up its efforts to broaden its outreach to potential candidates including Malaysian students who are studying abroad.

FSTEP is a one-year intensive programme with the objective of training and preparing high calibre graduates for the financial services industry. FSTEP is managed by Institut Bank-Bank Malaysia and funded by the Staff Training Fund.

The programme is targeted at new graduates from local and foreign institutions of higher learning and those who are working in the non-financial sector but with interest to pursue careers in the financial services industry. (pls delete new)

To be eligible for enrolment in the FSTEP, applicants must be a Malaysian citizen with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.25 and above in any degree or higher qualification obtained from any recognised university. Applicants should not be above 30 years of age. The application form can be downloaded from the website. Interested applicants can e-mail their applications to enquiry@fstep.org.my or send them to FSTEP or fax them to +603 2031 4766 together with their resumes.

The one-year programme modules provide exposures to technical knowledge in conventional banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, insurance and Takaful as well as personal development programmes through a combination of workshops, simulations, case studies and on-the-job training with financial institutions.

FSTEP has now enrolled 607 participants since the programme started in December 2007. The first batch of 290 participants had completed the one-year training programme in December 2008. The second intake comprising 208 participants are now undergoing internship with various financial institutions in the Klang Valley. They are expected to complete the programme in June 2009.

The programme has also registered 109 participants for its third intake on 2 January 2009. They have started their training from 5 January 2009 and expected to complete the programme by the end of 2009.

In January 2009, the programme introduced an intensive one-month English course facilitated by trainers from British Council as well as those from IBBM and other sources. As such, the six-month internship has been shortened to five months. This initiative is undertaken to enhance the English proficiency level of participants and ensure that they are well prepared for employment in the financial services institutions in future.

 Articles from Institute Bank Bank Malaysia

Local learning institutions open up bold, new frontier overseas

IT was bound to happen but few thought that it would become a reality in their lifetime.

Limkokwing and Inti International University College have proved skeptics wrong by setting up campuses overseas.

Inti started the ball rolling by opening the Beijing Inti Management College in 1994.Since then, it has ventured into other Asian regions with the opening of Inti College Hong Kong in 1999 and Inti College Indonesia in 2001.

Limkokwing set up a full-fledged university in Gaborone, Botswana, in March this year at the invitation of the Botswanian government.
Ties with the country started back 1999 when the first batch of 100 Batswana students enrolled at the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Cyberjaya.

Now, their number   has swelled to 500 students while the Gaborone campus has 1,500 students. In some respects, the two institutions are practising the “glocal” concept—“think global, act local ” – recently propounded by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Limkokwing also set its signs on London and opened a campus in Piccadilly with 250 students at almost the same time this year. They have targeted a 600-student enrolment by September.

Private education overseas Campuses and arrangements in Cambodia and New York are already in the pipeline. “I see a trend for not only Malaysia but other Asian countries where the private education sector will play an increasingly larger role in expanding overseas with globalization,” said founder and president Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing.

Articles about INTI International University

Ricoh Malaysia and HELP University College set up the first “InnoTech Centre” in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia, 4 December 2008 – Ricoh, a  leading document solutions provider, announced a significant partnership with HELP University College to jointly develop a one-stop printing centre called the “InnoTech Centre” at the latter’s Bukit Damansara campus in Kuala Lumpur. The centre is poised to become an “incubator” centre for digital office technology and a one-stop print centre that serves the needs of HELP students as well as the surrounding business community. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was inked 
between Ricoh (M) Sdn Bhd’s Managing  Director Lim Eng Weng and HELP University College’s President Datuk Dr. Paul Chan at an official signing ceremony held at HELP’s Pusat Bandar Damansara auditorium. 
“The creation of InnoTech Centre is borne out of both organizations’ commitment to create excellence and harness synergy in our respective fields. Effective use of digital office technology will enhance the delivery process of education and improve learning. In addition, undergraduates will be well exposed to the latest digital print technology and solutions before they join the workforce,” said Lim Eng Weng, 
Managing Director of Ricoh Malaysia. 
The new state-of-the-art  InnoTech Centre,  scheduled for completion in the first 
quarter of 2009 at an estimated cost of approximately RM1 million, will provide all 
HELP students a modern “print lounge” facility that showcases Ricoh’s cutting-edge 
digital office technologies and document management solutions. The centre is also expected to provide “on demand” printing and document creation and management services to the surrounding business and neighbourhood community. Meanwhile, the HELP Group will also be using Ricoh’s printing  solutions in all its 
campuses, especially at the Subang 2 Green Technology Campus. The new printing technology from Ricoh, which is environmentally friendly, will enhance efficiency and productivity at HELP as it is wireless and accessible from everywhere. This collaboration will also cut costs for the HELP Group by approximately 
RM20,000 a month. This is significant in view of the present recession and high energy cost. HELP is committed to playing a part in ensuring that resources are used efficiently and with care. More importantly, the collaboration provides the HELP Group in rationalising their management using state-of-the-art management techniques of Ricoh. “HELP is very excited to be working with Ricoh on this project. We will also be 
conducting  various training programmes with Ricoh to teach the public  different printing technologies and Information Security Management System (ISMS) programmes,” said Datuk Dr. Paul Chan, President and co-Founder of HELP University College. “These  InnoTech Centres are part of the diversification strategy 
for both HELP and Ricoh to offer something unique to the public and to seek revenue from different areas. By utilizing Ricoh’s advanced printing technology, it will also be an incubator for innovation and entrepreneurial activities  especially  related to publishing.” Both organizations hailed the “InnoTech Centre” as a start of a new level of collaboration and partnership.


Articles about HELP University College