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Over the last decade, Jordanian Authorities and Government adopted several far‐reaching measures aimed at improving its investment environment. These measures included the introduction of International Accounting Standards (IASs) in 1990, amendment of the Companies Act in 1997 and amendments to Investment Promotion Law in 1998. This study specifically provides empirical evidence on changes in the depth of corporate disclosure after introducing IASs. In addition, the relationship between the depth of corporate disclosure and company's attributes is investigated. The outcome of the analysis reveals a slight improvement in the depth of disclosure after the introduction the IASs. The depth of disclosure seems to be associated with corporate size, audit firm status, liquidity, gearing, and profitability.

This study aims to examine the underlying determinants that may influence external audit fees paid by Emirati nonfinancial companies listed on Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

Data used in this study are mainly collected from the 2011 annual reports and corporate governance reports published by the Emirati nonfinancial companies listed on DFM. Backward regression analysis is used to measure the impact of a set of company characteristics on Emirati non-financial listed firm’s audit delays.

The findings pointed to a significant and positive association between audit fees and each of corporate size and audit committee independence variables. A significant and negative relationship has been detected between external audit fees and business complexity. The findings also revealed that audit fees are not significantly associated with company’s profitability, risk, industry type, status of audit firm and audit report lag.

The paper helps in expanding limited existing literature about the determinants of audit fees in the Arab and Middle East countries generally and in the UAE context particularly. No prior attempt had been made to investigate the determinants of audit fees paid by Emirati firms listed on DFM because the disclosure of audit fees services provided by external auditors only became effective after April 30, 2010. The findings of the study may be generalized to other Arab countries, particularly neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council states, that have a similar socio-cultural environment.

The purpose of this study is to identify factors discouraging Kuwaiti nationals from participating in the private sector labour force (Kuwaitization).

A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of Kuwaiti nationals to identify the main reasons that prevent them from joining the private sector labour force.

The study revealed that low expectations of private sectors’ employers regarding Kuwaiti nationals discourage them from joining the sector. Kuwaiti nationals believe that the private sector employers look for high standards of communication and computing skills. They avoid working for the private sector because some jobs require working for two shifts and long working hours, and they cannot obtain frequent leave. Other factors that appeared to affect Kuwaiti nationals’ participation in the private sector labour force were lack of job security, fewer holidays, difficulty to obtain special pay leave or early retirement at lucrative terms, uncertainty about the prospect of promotion and job insecurity.

The current study targets Kuwaiti national employees. To formulate a clear picture about the main factors that influence the success or otherwise of the Kuwaitization policy, it is of paramount importance to explore the opinion of the private sector employers.

The outcome of this study would be used by policymakers to promote Kuwaitization and increase Kuwaiti nationals’ participation in the private sector labour force. This will increase the country’s reliance on its national labour force and ensure sustainable economic and social development.

The outcome of this study is expected to assist the Kuwaiti authorities in reformulating the current Kuwaitization policies to achieve its objectives. The study is expected to draw some lessons applicable to other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between audit committee (AC) and a set of other corporate governance mechanisms in one of the emerging economies, United Arab of Emirates (UAE). In particular, the current study examines whether an effective AC can serve as a substitute or as a complement mechanism to board characteristics and ownership structure of Emirati listed non-financial companies.

Using substitution and complementary theories, a panel data from 48 nonfinancial companies listed on the UAE Stock Exchanges [Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange and Dubai Financial Market] during the period between 2011 and 2013 were used in the current study. A composite measure of four proxies has been used to measure the AC effectiveness, namely, AC size, independence, financial expertise and diligence. To test the hypotheses formulated for the study, a logistic regression model was used to identify the influence of a set of board characteristics and ownership structure variables on the effectiveness of the AC after controlling for firm size, auditor type, industry type and profitability.

While AC effectiveness appeared to be positively associated with board size and board independence, it is negatively associated with CEO duality. This points to a complementary governance relation. On the other hand, the negative relationship between AC effectiveness and each of institutional and government ownership suggests substitutive relations.

The main shortcoming of the current study is that it examines the influence of a certain set of corporate governance factors on the effectiveness of AC. Other corporate governance mechanisms may, however, contribute to the effectiveness of AC. The findings of the study can be used by companies’ managements and regulators in the UAE to improve the corporate governance system.

To the best of researchers’ knowledge, this study provides the first evidence about the interaction among multiple governance mechanisms required by the code of corporate governance issued by the UAE Ministry of Economy in 2009. The current paper is expected to add to the limited AC literature in Middle East and North African countries in general and Arab World in particular.

This study sets out to investigate the perception of different users of corporate information about the notion of the accountability process and the possibility of widening the scope of the current corporate annual report in Qatar to include social responsibility information. To achieve this objective, four user groups were invited to take part in the study. The outcome of the analysis revealed that most of those who took part in the study would like to see corporate social responsibility information disclosed, either in a separate section, or as part of the board of directors’ statement within the annual report. To achieve accountability, the respondents believe that a law that encourages the disclosure of corporate social responsibility information should be introduced, and different parties within the society should have the right to such information.

This study investigates the perception of users of corporate annual reports about various aspects of accounting harmonization. To serve this purpose, a questionnaire was distributed to four user groups (investors, government officials, auditors and academics). The results of the analysis revealed that sharing the same language, as well as sharing similar economic and cultural features are the most important factors expected to positively affect the harmonization of accounting practices in the GCC countries. However, the most important factors expected to obstruct accounting harmonization practices across GCC countries are the lack of professional and legal requirements as well as enforcement problems. The outcome of the analysis also revealed that harmonization is expected to (1) improve comparison between companies, (2) increase usefulness of financial information to decision makers, and (3) ensure consistency in the use of accounting rules over time. It was also evident from the analysis that lack of harmonization is viewed as the most likely factor to prevent some investors from investing across the GCC countries.

Customer satisfaction is a significant issue for most marketers. Previous research has identified various factors that determine customer satisfaction in retail banking sector in Western countries. The current paper reports findings from a survey, which looked into determinants of customer satisfaction in the retail banking in Pakistan. A total of 300 questionnaires were randomly distributed to customers of a specific bank in Pakistan. Results indicate that there was a strong relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. There was, however, no relationship between customer satisfaction and tangible aspects of the service environment. The paper discusses implications for bank management.

This study examines the use of selected management accounting techniques by a sample of large and medium sized Saudi manufacturing companies. The analysis revealed that the vast majority of management accounting techniques that are the focus of this study are used. Traditional management accounting techniques are perceived to be important and are heavily used by participant companies. Although new management accounting techniques, such as ABC and JIT, are used by a limited number of participants, the result is in line with those reported by studies conducted in some developed countries.

The Islamic banking system is gaining momentum. Many international conventional banks have started to open branches which operate in accordance with the Islamic Shariah principles in some Islamic countries. The Islamic banking system is expected to face strong competition not only from the Islamic banks but also from well‐established conventional banks offering Islamic products and services. In this study, an attempt is made to assess the degree of customer awareness and satisfaction towards an Islamic bank in Jordan. A sample 206 respondents took part in this study. The analysis of their responses revealed a certain degree of satisfaction of many of the Islamic banks facilities and products. The respondents expressed their dissatisfaction with some of the Islamic banks services. Although the respondents indicated that they are aware of a number of specific Islamic financial products like Murabaha Musharaka and Mudaraba, they show that they do not deal with them.

Understanding the antecedents to and outcomes of customer satisfaction is a critical issue for both academics and bank marketers. Previous research has identified service quality, expectations, disconfirmation, performance, desires, affect and equity as important antecedents of customer satisfaction. The current paper reports findings from a survey which looked into the impact of service quality dimensions and customer expertise on satisfaction. A sample of 167 respondents took part in this study. Findings indicate that both core and relational dimensions of service quality appear to be linked to customer satisfaction. Findings also indicate that expertise is negatively related to satisfaction. The paper discusses implications for bank managers.