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This chapter assesses the impact of ethics laws at the state level in the U.S., focusing on laws that apply specifically to one category of public officials: legislators. I first discuss the positive contribution of ethics laws to the functioning of democratic government. I then turn to the costs of the laws, which are often subtle and counterintuitive. The discussion of the costs of ethics laws draws on a growing body of empirical evidence, and highlights the ways that legislation can have unintended and undesirable consequences.

The purpose of this chapter is to examine how the broader characteristics of Pakistan’s public policies reflect Islamic law, how the financial crime rate has been affected by policy rules, and if the policies do indeed reflect Islamic law, how do they help the process?

It is a qualitative exploratory study where structured interviews have been conducted with experts and practitioners in Islamic Ideological Council and Parliament.

The findings constitute a threadbare discussion of financial crimes which policy takes into account under Islamic law; along with the relevant ramifications and recommendations.

It is suggested that the laws of Pakistan be studied taking Shariah density into consideration. Future research can focus on implementation of laws and policies as a factor improving governance.

This study is pertinent because financial crimes in light of Islamic law and public policy are not discussed in detail in previous research.

Globalization has indeed created opportunities as well as socio-economic and ecological challenges for tourism economies. Digital transformation and liberalization in the financial sectors have evolved to address these needs. This chapter therefore seeks to examine the effects of digital financial transformation and legal environment for sustainable tourism development in East Africa.

The chapter adopts an interdisciplinary and pragmatic worldview on digital financial transformation and legal environment for sustainable tourism development in East Africa. This will engage qualitative research by examining recent extant literature, practitioner interviews, and secondary data.

In East Africa, the digital infrastructure for the Industry 5.0 is relatively underdeveloped hindering faster growth of digital financial economies and sustainable tourism. There is a weak legal framework in the East African countries in matters like e-business, cybercrime, and data privacy laws. The countries have gaps in their intellectual property laws which stifle innovation and these inadequate laws have led to increased digital online crime and frauds.

There is a need to strengthen and integrate a multi-sectoral approach toward a regional digital and legal policy framework in order to encourage innovation and e-business. Collaborative solutions, built on shared datasets, automate the financial services, creating efficiencies and accuracy in the financial systems.

The chapter draws on the use of interdisciplinary approaches toward developing a framework for digital financial transformation and legal environment for sustainable tourism development in East Africa.

The rules on takeover bids are generally considered to be an important factor within the debate on corporate governance. The risk of a takeover bid – and of a consequent change in company control – should motivate a company’s board to act in the best interests of the shareholders (the so-called disciplinary mechanism). The European rules on takeover bids are enshrined in Directive 2004/25/EC (which is also known as the Thirteenth Directive on Company Law), which applies to bids for securities of companies (issuers) governed by the laws of Member States. In this chapter the author analysed the European rules on takeover bids and highlighted certain national options for implementing the Directive, although a revision of the European Directive, which will be based, among other things, on an examination of the advantages and disadvantages of its application, has been under way since 2004. The chapter also considered the revisions currently being proposed by the European Commission and the European Parliament.

This paper discusses issues and developments that relate to the teaching of bank regulation in tertiary institutions. It looks at how course content, teaching texts and methodology can become subject to issues like specific historical, and jurisdictional, cultures and contexts for the discipline. It considered how economic and political approaches impact such teaching. How banking regulations are used, and how course structures are built, show that these are matters which impinge on the type of bank personnel who later eventually leave academia and end up working on regulatory or compliance matters.

Hisbah is one of the distinguished institutions that had emerged since the early days of the Islamic empire. Based on its cardinal duty to enjoin good and prohibit evil, over time, its functions gradually expanded, and its responsibilities increasingly grew. In light of the contemporary trend in establishing institutional framework for consumer protection, entrusting an agency with multifarious tasks may not be the best and effective way in handling consumer protection issues. Thus, this chapter attempts to explore the new paradigm of hisbah as a consumer protection institution in Malaysia with a special reference to the Islamic consumer credit industry. While utilising the doctrinal legal research methodology, relevant sources of law have been examined and analysed. This research finds that the classical hisbah institution provides a good reference point in establishing regulatory agency and dispute management body. Nevertheless, some modifications are required to remain relevant especially in terms of specialisation of role and function. Likewise, it is viewed that adjustment of the hisbah institution is also necessary regarding the characteristic of the muhtasib (ombudsman).

Purpose – This chapter examines developments in public sector accounting practices using evidence from a developing country (Ghana), and explores the motivations for such developments from post-independence to date. This stems from the limited research in public sector accounting particularly on developing countries despite the rich empirical context that they provide for the global research community.

Design/methodology/approach – Advocating for institutional theory, data was gathered from multiple sources including interviews, discussions and documents to achieve the above objectives.

Findings – Evidence gathered shows gradual shift from cash accounting to accrual accounting practices (modified), including computerization of the entire public sector accounting and reporting processes. Indeed, the World Bank and IMF sponsored reform (PUFMARP) instigated many of the major developments in the public sector accounting practices, including the adoption of accrual accounting and deployment of integrated financial management information system.

Research limitations/implications – Findings on developments during the post-colonial period were only based on the analysis of few documentary sources.

Originality/value – The study contributes to the limited studies in public sector accounting from developing countries and Africa in particular. It also extends the application of institutional theory in public sector accounting research.

Implications – Findings inform practitioners and policy-makers on the context-specific factors worth considering in the adoption of public sector accounting practices.

This chapter is based on the Annual Report on Public Accounts prepared by the Maltese National Audit Office (NAO), Malta’s Supreme Audit Institution. Its objectives are to analyse and classify the reported issues, evaluate their significance and how the findings are reflected in the Public Sector, and assess the adequacy of the communication of these findings through the Annual Report. The research consisted of a qualitative analysis of the Annual Reports for the three years 2007, 2009 and 2011. This analysis was supplemented by unstructured interviews conducted with both NAO and Government officials. Findings report a significant number of issues emerging from different factors. The highest incidence of weaknesses was related to record-keeping and compliance with policies and procedures. Moreover, the interviews with NAO officials showed that the departments were not always taking on board the recommendations made through the Annual Reports, thus indicating a passive attitude towards the reported findings. The results also show that while the Government has its own structures of checks-and-balances to prevent and detect errors, and no internal control system is completely effective, there is still much room for improvement within the Public Sector to ensure that public funds are appropriately utilised. The detection of various issues by the NAO is therefore inevitable, particularly given the complexity and size of the Public Sector. In conclusion, the NAO findings should be more thoroughly examined to reduce the incidence of issues. Furthermore, the way forward should be directed at enhancing the current systems and promoting a more positive relationship between the NAO and auditees.