MIA LAUNCHES WHITE PAPER ON SHARIAH AUDIT TO ENHANCE SHARIAH GOVERNANCE AND STRENGTHEN MALAYSIA'S LEAD IN ISLAMIC FINANCE

From left - Mohd Muazzam Mohamed - Chairman of the MIA Islamic Finance Committee, Datuk Bazlan Osman - President of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), Dominic Chegne, President of the Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia (IIA Malaysia), Prof. Dr. Zurina Shafii, Professor, Faculty of Economics and Muamalat, USIM and Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mustafa Mohd Hanefah, Professor, Faculty of Economics and Muamalat, USIM at the Launching of White Paper on Shariah Audit.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- As part of its advocacy on Islamic finance, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) recently published a White Paper on Shariah Audit (White Paper) in collaboration with Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM).

This White Paper is intended to help enhance Shariah governance and strengthen Malaysia’s global leadership in Islamic finance, and is aligned with MIA’s nation building purpose. “Shariah governance is one of the key areas for MIA’s advocacy and Malaysia’s globally competitive Islamic finance industry, as spearheaded by the MIA Islamic Finance Committee. Given that Shariah regulations and compliance are a competitive edge in growing and capitalising on Islamic markets, it is imperative to ensure consistent Shariah compliance for the issuance of Islamic finance services and products, particularly through the adequate implementation of Shariah governance structures and Shariah audit practices,” stated Encik Mohd Muazzam Mohamed, Chairman of the MIA Islamic Finance Committee, and a leading practitioner in the Islamic finance sector at the launch of the White Paper.

In essence, the White Paper emphasises the importance of Shariah audit practices and governance structure in attaining Shariah compliance. It also provides an overview of the diverse regulations and current practices as well as issues and policy recommendations relating to Shariah audit in Islamic financial institutions, Islamic capital market, Islamic cooperatives, public trust entities and other Islamic institutions such as state Islamic religious councils.

Based on a mix of primary and secondary data, the White Paper derives analysis of the current challenges in implementing Shariah audit practices from roundtable sessions and the deliberations of a Shariah Audit Working Group comprising industry experts and regulators. “The White Paper has gone through a vigorous review process by a Working Group that is represented by regulatory bodies including Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission,” added Encik Muazzam.

The White Paper identifies two key challenges to improving Shariah audits. One, the lack of defined scope for Shariah audit. Two, the lack of required talent with the requisite skill and knowledge to perform an effective Shariah audit. To tackle these issues, the White Paper proposes the issuance of a Roadmap and Best Practice Guides that address talent management and professional development for Shariah auditors as well as audit coverage respectively. 

MIA LAUNCHES WHITE PAPER ON SHARIAH AUDIT TO ENHANCE SHARIAH GOVERNANCE AND STRENGTHEN MALAYSIA'S LEAD IN ISLAMIC FINANCE