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This paper aims to examine the compliance of disclosure with the financial accounting standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions’ (AAOIFI) related to Islamic financing products by Islamic banks in Bahrain and Qatar.

The study measures compliance using disclosure indexes. The disclosure indexes include the three financial accounting standards of Murabaha, Mudaraba and Musharaka. The data are collected from the annual reports of 24 Islamic banks in Bahrain and Qatar over a period of 2012-2015.

The paper found that Islamic banks in Bahrain and Qatar comply with AAOIFI financial accounting standards related to Murabaha, Mudaraba and Musharaka. However, there was a level of non-compliance in both countries. In addition, it found that the extent of compliance had increased over the 2012-2015 period. Also, the Murabaha standard had the highest mean of compliance. Moreover, the results showed that the Islamic banks in Qatar tend to have more compliance of overall Murabaha and Mudaraba disclosures compared to the Islamic banks in Bahrain.

The findings are preliminary and highlight that the issue is of high interest to Islamic banks and AAOIFI. Hence, it requires a detailed follow-up to form a complete picture that would assist AAOIFI and regulators gear their policies toward better quality disclosure by Islamic financial institutions. Even though the findings are encouraging, future research is recommended to enforce compliance with the AAOIFI financial accounting standards.

This is a pioneer empirical study that focuses on the level and trend of compliance with AAOIFI financial accounting standards related to the Islamic financing products of Murabaha, Mudaraba and Musharaka standards, especially in Qatar. Additionally, it is the first study comparing between the only two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, i.e. Bahrain and Qatar, that mandatory apply the AAOIFI standards.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the inheritance of a business from the Islamic accounting perspective.

The paper adapts the relevant provisions of conventional accounting standards and practices that conform to Sharīʿah (Islamic law). In addition, the provisions of the Islamic accounting standard for musharakah (AAOIFI’s FAS No. 4) found to be relevant are also adapted.

The study shows that the assets of an inherited business should be measured at their fair values and that liabilities and legacies must be deducted therefrom with the view to arriving at the equity (or residue). The equity is then distributed among the heirs based on the sharing ratio established according to the Noble Qurʾān, the Sunnah (the Prophet’s way) and Muslim jurists’ views. Therefore, the inherited business becomes a family business as each heir is admitted into it. By extension, Islam emphasizes that the business should remain a going concern to generate income to sustain the welfare of the heirs.

The discussion of the paper is limited to the inheritance of a business and its going concern in line with the Sharīʿah.

Special attention should be paid to the inherited business to ensure not only its continuity to generate income for the heirs but also that each heir gets a correct share of the equity of the business as regulated by the Sharīʿah.

This study links Islamic inheritance to the going concern of the business, which from all indications has not been given full consideration by previous studies.

This paper aims to examine the Islamic accounting research. In particular, the paper extensively investigates the literature on Islamic accounting to understand the issues, contexts, methods and theoretical paradigms thereof.

The study has adopted a literature review approach. It has examined the key journal publications for 30 years in accounting discipline and systematically identified the Islamic accounting papers during 1990–2020. In total, 95 papers were identified until June 2020, and they were thoroughly reviewed to identify the relevant issues, contexts, methods and theoretical paradigms.

The study has found that Islamic accounting papers covered issues of both Islamic organizations (e.g. Islamic financial institutions) and of Muslim countries. The key issues include the regulation and regulatory compliance, annual report disclosures, corporate and Islamic governance, accounting profession, gender, accountability matters, management accounting and control, waqf accounting and zakat management. The study has also observed various normative guidelines from the academics on how the teaching of Islam is enacted in accounting, accountability and governance matters to attain the maqasid al-shari'a, i.e. human welfare, social justice and equity.

The study is not empirical. Hence, the limitations of literature review papers are applicable in this case. Moreover, it is possible that this study could not identify some of the important literature on Islamic accounting (such as the papers published in Arabic by the academicians and professionals of Arab world).

The study enables both Islamic accounting academics and practitioners to identify the main Islamic accounting issues and realize the importance of Islamic accounting.

When the author considers Islamic accounting as a social construction and tries to understand the phenomenon through social theories, the author acknowledges the relevance of Islamic accounting in the society in which it operates. It can be noticed from the discussion that Islamic accounting emphasizes on social welfare, balance, equity and providing relevant information to follow the commandments of God.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to provide a synoptic view on the issues, context, methods and theoretical paradigms of Islamic accounting, while covering major accounting journals in 30 years.

This study aims to investigate and point out the variations of agency theory in the context of Sharīʿah governance in Islamic banking operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

The study followed the approach of quantitative Corporate Governance Index (CGI) by computing the Gov-index (Gompers et al., 2003) and the Gov-score (Brown and Caylor, 2004; Saffieddine, 2009) to examine corporate governance (CG) issues using primary as well as secondary data. The primary data was generated from three full-fledged Islamic banks (IBs) and nine traditional banks with Islamic banking wings, all operating in the KSA. The approach was to provide an insight into the agency structure in the context of Islamic banking, which may lead to a trade-off between the conformity of Sharīʿah (Islamic law) rules and processes followed in safeguarding the rights of investors.

The majority of the Islamic banking services that are surveyed in this study acknowledge the significance of Sharīʿah governance and have implemented the fundamental methods, in conformity with this system. Certain flaws in Sharīʿah governance principles pertaining to audit, control and transparency are reported.

The research outcomes will be invaluable to IBs aiming to improve existing SG practices. It also has implications for IB managers to design strategies while complying with regulations and to protect the interests of all investors without breaching the ethics of Sharīʿah.

This paper adds original value to the body of knowledge on agency relationship by analysing the dynamics of agency theory in the unique and complex context of Sharīʿah governance of IBs or those offering Islamic products in the KSA. The results can be used as a valuable feedback for improvement of Sharīʿah governance in the banking system in the KSA and the Gulf region at large.

This paper aims to analyse the concept of form over substance and introduces the term substance gap to the literature. The substance gap is defined as the difference between the way a concept is expressed and its intended result. Besides, the study investigates the issue from both classical and contemporary viewpoints.

The methodology adopted in this paper is descriptive research.

This paper has depicted the substance gap in contemporary contracts and found that form is equally important as substance in Islamic finance contracts. This paper offers a fresh outlook on form and substance to highlight the importance of the issue and its significance. The findings of the study will help researchers address the issue at its roots and help them to bridge the gap between the form and substance of Islamic finance contracts.

This paper investigates the substance gap in contemporary contracts that exists between the fiqh rules and conditions of an Islamic contract, and their development and construction. Further, the gap could also be attributed to the pressure to cope with a complicated modern finance environment.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of Shariah governance (SG) mechanisms on Islamic banks' performance and Shariah compliance quality in the context of Bangladesh.

A semi-structured personal interview tactic was applied to accomplish the research objectives. The data were collected from the regulators, Shariah supervisory boards, Shariah department executives and Shariah experts from the Central Bank (Bangladesh Bank) and Islamic banks in Bangladesh.

The study discovers that the quality of the Board of Directors (BODs), Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB), management and Shariah executives have both positive and negative influences on the Shariah compliance quality, image, goodwill and performance of Islamic banks' in Bangladesh. The compositions, formations and quality of SSB and Shariah officers positively influence the Islamic banks' fatwas, Shariah decisions, compliance quality and firm performance. The study also finds that prevailing banking pressure, current political situation, the willingness of BOD and management and social limitations impact Islamic banks' performance, Shariah compliance quality, image and goodwill.

Based on our findings, if the regulators, BODs and Islamic banks can manage effective and efficient executives, it will create a positive impact on Islamic banks' performance, image, goodwill and quality compliance. As the prevailing banking pressure, current political situation and social limitations hinder the functions and employment system of the Islamic banks as well as result the Islamic banks' image, performance, Shariah implementations and compliance. Thus, the theorist needs to consider these mechanisms in extending the agency, stakeholder and resource dependence theories.

This research extends the literature concerning the influences of Islamic banks' SG mechanisms in Bangladesh. The study also argued not only the efficient and effective mechanisms but also the prevailing banking pressure, current political situation and social limitations impact on Islamic banks' performance and Shariah compliance quality.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of financial performance (FP) and governance on the accounting and auditing organization for Islamic financial institutions (AAOIFI) disclosure for the Islamic banks.

The authors used the generalized least squares (GLS) estimation for 47 MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia) Islamic banks (IBs) between 2012 and 2019. In this regression, disclosure is the endogenous variable. The performance and governance measures are the explanatory parameters. The authors use bank's size, leverage and age for control parameters. The robustness of results is verified via generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method.

The findings indicate that performance measurement has weak effects on AAOIFI disclosure. Only the net interest margin (NIM) measure has a significant positive impact. The return of assets (ROA) and the return on equity (ROE) have a significant negative impact. Furthermore, all Shariah Governance measures have significant effects. Finally, the findings of this study support the governance's positive contribution to the disclosure in IBs.

Through including the whole issues allied to AAOIFI and their impacts on the banks' value, this study provides a significant summary for IBs, policymakers, regulators, AAOIFI and connected authorities across countries. In addition, the findings linked powers between jurisdictions with recommendations on growing the present AAOIFI practices.

This paper offers an original contribution to the accounting professionals and stakeholders who investigate the relationship between disclosure, performance and governance. It is considered as a basis for future studies in the simultaneous relation between these variables. It is crucial for accounting professionals, researchers and stakeholders interesting in the financial disclosure (FD) in IBs.

This paper aims to develop a ranking methodology for the companies included in the Islamic indices in Turkey. Thus, this paper simplifies the decision-making process for investors with Islamic sensitivities to stock market investment when constructing their investment portfolio.

This paper uses a case study of 20 companies listed on Borsa Istanbul, drawing data from their 2017, 2018 and 2019 financial reports. These companies are scored and ranked according to their compatibility with the screening criteria used by Ziraat Katilim index in Turkey. In addition, this paper uses the quantitative screening process to calculate the ranking scores of these companies.

The findings show that some companies are highly compatible with the screening criteria, with ranking scores close to 100 points. However, some companies satisfied the criteria on the margin. This may not be a desirable result for some investors.

Only 20 companies are included in the analysis. Since the conventional accounting system is used in Turkey, it was difficult to get exact information about the companies’ Sharīʿah compatibility from the financial results.

The findings assist investors to determine which company is ethically more responsible than others within the Islamic framework. There are also implications for the companies in question, index providers and Sharīʿah scholars.

The findings aim to simplify the decision-making process of investors who have Islamic sensitivities to stock exchange market investment when they constitute their portfolio.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is one of the first attempts to develop a ranking methodology for Sharīʿah-screened stocks in Turkey even though Sharīʿah screening has been on the agenda since the late 1990s. This paper also compares 11 indices based on their screening criteria.

This study aims at investigating the impact of the disclosure and the Shariah governance on the financial performance in MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia) Islamic banks.

We use the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression models to check the interdependence relationship between the disclosure, the Shariah governance and the financial performance of 47 Islamic banks (IBs) from ten countries operating in MENASA region. The sample period is from 2012 to 2019. In these regressions models, Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) are the dependent variables. The disclosure and the Shariah governance indicators are the independent factors. To measure the Shariah governance, we use the three sub-indices, which are the Board of Directors (BOD), the Audit Committee (AC) and the Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB). Size, Leverage and Age of the bank are used as control variables. We also used The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and the three-stage least squares (3SLS) estimations for robustness check.

Result shows a negative relationship between the disclosure and the two performance measures in IBs. Furthermore, as far as the governance indicators are concerned, we found that the BOD and AC, as well as the BOD and SSB, have a positive and significant impact on the ROA and ROE, respectively. This reveals that good governance had a significant association with higher performance in MENASA IBs.

The paper considers both IBs that adopt mandatory as well as voluntary AAOIFI standards and the GLS method to investigate the impact of the AAOIFI disclosure and the Shariah governance on ROA and ROE. Also, it uses the GMM and the 3SLS estimations for robustness check. It is relevant for researchers, policymakers and stakeholders concerned with IBs' performance.

This paper aims to examine the impact of board governance quality (BGQ) and its mechanisms, namely board activity, board independence, board communication and board expertise, on the level of risk disclosure compliance (RDC) among financial institutions (FIs) in Uganda.

The study adopts a cross-sectional design where data are collected through a questionnaire survey and audited financial statements of 83 FIs. The authors employ partial least square structural equation modeling (SmartPLS32.7) to test hypotheses.

The authors find that the level of RDC in Ugandan FIs is low. Further, the study finds the positive relation between BGQ and RDC. Moreover, the authors find that RDC is positively and significantly related with board activity, board independence, board communication and board expertise. Furthermore, the authors find that the level of RDC is positively and significantly related to ownership type, firm size and board size, respectively. Nevertheless, industry type, number of branches and firm age are insignificantly related to RDC.

The study provides relevant insights into regulators and policy makers with early symptoms of potential problems regarding weak board governance in FIs. Policy makers may also use these findings as a guideline tool for improving existing board governance frameworks in place and development of new disclosure policies. In addition, the study provides an input into the review and amendments of existing corporate governance codes for the regulators.

This study offers the empirical evidence on the nexus between BGQ and RDC of FIs in Uganda. Moreover, the study also offers evidence on how BGQ mechanisms impact RDC. The study also further adds theoretical foundations to the RDC literature.