ARI Bagged GIFA Award 2015

The Global Islamic Finance Awards or GIFA being the most respectable international market-led awards in Islamic banking and finance has announced the Accounting Research Institute (ARI HICoE) from Malaysia as the special winner of “Pioneering Research in Islamic Financial Criminology”.

The prestigous event  was held in Manama City, Kingdom of Bahrain on  28 September, 2015 at The Gulf Hotel.  Islamic Financial Criminology (IFC) is a pioneering research area introduced by ARI in 2010 when it was accorded the Higher Institutions’ Centre of Excellence (HICoE) status by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. IFC encompasses  two main domains namely Islamic Finance and Financial Criminology.  ARI believes that a sustainable Islamic Finance industry must focus on continuously developing new Islamic Finance products as well as be mindful of the potential risks of financial crimes that could retard the development of the Islamic Finance sector.

GIFA is the most prestigious awards in the Islamic finance services industry where recognition is given to individuals and organisations selected for their successes and best practices in the Islamic finance sector.  GIFA has been initiated and organised by Edbiz Consulting, a leading London-based Islamic financial consultancy since 2011.  Last year, ARI-HICoE was awarded the “Best Islamic Finance Education Provider 2014” at GIFA 2014 which was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was such as honour for ARI HICoE of Universiti Teknologi MARA for winning the award for the second consecutive years.  Presence to receive GIFA 2015 award for ARI HICoE were its Director, Prof Dr Normah Omar and Research Fellow Dr Norazida Mohamed. Reflecting the name that it carries, ARI has shown outstanding performance since it was accorded the HICoE status in 2010 by Ministry of Higher Education. Within less than five years ARI has become a global leader in Islamic Financial Criminology research area. Research in Islamic Finance has seen the development of new products such as Islamic microfinance, Islamic-based Social Enterprises, E-Biz Waqaf and Islamic Philanthropy. 

 Researches in Financial Criminology include anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing, financial fraud/corruption prevention mechanisms and the development of corporate integrity system.  ARI’s collaborative partners have included among others, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), Institute of Public Enterprise India, Association of Forensic Accountants Pakistan, Oxford Institute of Islamic Studies, IBFIM, Asian Institute of Finance, Compliance Officer Networking Group, Bolton University Institute of Islamic Finance, University of Teesside Centre for Fraud and Financial Crime, Association of Islamic Finance Tunisia, Association of Muslim Accountants, Philippines and the International Centre of Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Singapore.

UiTM Foundation for Economic Transformation

The Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Tan Sri Dato' Seri Professor Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar and the Director of Accounting Research Institute (ARI), Professor Dr Normah Omar recently met up with the Yang Di Pertua Negeri Pulau Pinang, Tuan Yang Terutama (TYT) Tun Datuk Seri Dr Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas on the viability for UiTM to set up a foundation to support the university's research project related to Islamic Microfinance.  The research project targets microcredit entrepreneurs in Penang who are currently being financed by  various financiers such as Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), TEKUN and financial institutions.  The aim is to link them (microcredit entrepreneurs) with suitable partners who can either supply raw materials at much discounted cost or they can market the entrepreneurs' products through a "buy-back" concept.  As part of its economic transformation programme, the Accounting Research Institute has successfully embarked on Islamic Microfinance programmes (Tailoring) in Selangor and Terengganu. 

Corporate Integrity Survey for UDA Holding

Recently, Associate Professor Dr Jamaliah  Said presented the survey findings of the Corporate Integrity assessment to UDA Holding in Kuala Lumpur.  The preliminary findings were first presented to the Integrity unit of UDA before they are presented to the top management at a later date.  A corporate integrity workshop was conducted at UDA headquarters a few months ago, where representative of various units in UDA participated in the questionnaire survey.  Corporate Integrity Questionnaire is an instrument developed jointly by the academic group headed by the Accounting Research Institute and the Malaysian Institute of Integrity.

ARI's Strategic Planning Workshop

The Accounting Research Institute (ARI) held a  one-day strategic planning workshop at the Grand Blue Wave hotel today.  Attended by all fellows,the workshop discussed among others strategic actions for four main research clusters for 2015 - 2018.  The four research clusters already identified are: (i) Islamic-based  Business Model  in Enhancing Good Governance and Wealth Creation, (ii) Corporate Integrity, Ethics and Risk Management, (iii) Anti-Money Laundering Mechanisms to Mitigate Financial Leakages and (iv) Methodologies in Financial Fraud Detection and Prevention.  The four research clusters support ARI's niche research agenda in Islamic Financial Criminology.  Islamic Financial Criminology (IFC) is a pioneering research area introduced by the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) in 2010 when it was accorded the Higher Institutions’ Centre of Excellence (HICoE) status by the Ministry of Education Malaysia.  IFC then became the niche research agenda that ARI, as a HICoE needs to drive.  The chosen niche research in IFC is in tandem with Malaysia’s vision to become a Global Islamic Finance Hub by 2020.   IFC as a concept encompasses two main domains namely Islamic Finance and Financial Criminology.  ARI believes that to develop a sustainable Islamic Finance Hub, Malaysia must continue introducing new Islamic finance products as well as be mindful of the potential risks of financial crimes that could retard the growth of the Islamic Finance sector.  When developing a sustainable Global Islamic Finance Hub, there are various strategic aspects that must be considered: continuous development of new Islamic Finance products; the establishment of good ethics, integrity and governance measures and the development of financial fraud mitigation mechanisms.