This study examines ten factors associated with fraudulent financial reporting (FFR) in Malaysian publicly listed companies. We hypothesize that three factors proxy for management rationalization, four factors proxy for management motives, and three factors proxy for the opportunity to commit fraud. Our sample consists of 53 fraud firms convicted of securities fraud and 53 no-fraud firms, all of which were listed on the Bursa Malaysia and have a complete set of data from 1996–2007. With regard to rationalization, we find that prior violations and founders on the board are positively and significantly associated with FFR. With regard to motive, we find that financial distress is positively and significantly associated with FFR while family ownership is negatively and significantly associated with FFR. Our opportunity for fraud proxies, multiple directorships, and audit quality are positively and significantly associated with FFR. Additionally, we find evidence of earnings management in the years leading up to FFR.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effects of corporate governance and firm-specific characteristics on the incidence of financial restatement among Malaysian public listed firms. Design/methodology/approach The elements of corporate governance consist of board size, board independence, multiple directorships, audit committee expertise, external audit quality and executive compensation. Meanwhile, the firm-specific characteristics consist of firm age, firm performance, firm leverage and firm liquidity. The agency theory has been used to guide the study. This study used a matched-pair sample that consisted of a sample of 49 restatement firms and 98 non-restatement firms between the years 2011 and 2016. Univariate (t-test and Pearson correlation) and multivariate (logistic regression) statistical techniques were used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results show that there is a negative and significant relationship between executive compensation and firm performance, and the incidence of financial restatement. In addition, there is a positive and significant relationship between firm leverage and the incidence of financial restatement. However, the other corporate governance and firm-specific characteristic variables included in the study were found to be insignificant with the incidence of financial restatement. This paper provides evidence that some form of corporate governance mechanisms and firm-specific characteristics, particularly executive compensation, firm performance and firm leverage, may influence the direction and magnitude of the incidence of financial restatement. The findings indicate that optimal executive incentives may align management interests with those of shareholders. In addition, greater performance and lower leverage levels minimise firms’ financial pressure and debt covenant violation risk, which may reduce the management tendency to misstate the financial statement, and consequently, minimise the likelihood of financial restatement. Originality/value The main value of this paper is the effect of corporate governance and firm-specific characteristics on the likelihood of financial restatement in Malaysia. The findings of this study provide useful insights for regulators to improve and reconsider the current regulations on corporate governance mechanisms.

This study examines seven factors associated with financial restatements in Malaysian publicly listed companies (PLCs). We hypothesize that two factors proxy for management rationalization, two for management motives and three for the opportunity to predict financial restatements. Our sample consists of 85 restatement firms and 85 no-restatement firms, listed on the Bursa Malaysia and have a complete set of data from 2005-2011. The objective of this study is to examine how rationalization, motive and weak governance lead to financial restatements in emerging economies, like Malaysia. With regard to rationalization, we find that founders are negatively and significantly associated with financial restatements while related party transactions (RPTs) are positively and significantly associated. Additionally, we find evidence that opportunity for restatement proxied by audit quality is negatively and significantly associated with financial restatements.

No abstract

This study examines two issues relating to fraudulent financial reporting in

No abstract

Purpose Money laundering offences occur worldwide, with recent discussions involving issues related to the low levels of compliance among professional accountants towards the anti-money laundering (AML) regime. Under the regime, professional accountants are required to implement compliance programs (Know Your Customer, Clients Due Diligent, Record Keeping) and to submit any suspicious transaction report encounters to the authorities. Due to the lack of research in this sector, this study aims to examine the compliance determinants towards AML regimes among professional accountants in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach Premised on protection motivation theory, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among 1,100 professional accountants. Of which 275 questionnaires were returned and subjected to regression analysis. Findings Based on the findings, “perceived risk of non-compliance” and “awareness of Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 and Financial Action Task Force standard” were significantly related to the level of compliance towards the AML regimes. Meanwhile, “compliance cost” did not influence the compliance behaviour of professional accountants. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that awareness programs among the reporting institutions should be enhanced, specifically the professional accountants. Practical implications This study recommends the professional bodies particularly professional accountants in Malaysia to establish a blueprint as a guideline for money laundering reporting. Originality/value This is one of the pioneer studies looking into AML compliance determinants among the professional accountants in Malaysia. This study will provide insights on the current practices and recommend ways to improve the current AML reporting practices among the professional accountants.

This paper discusses the relationships between managerial overconfidence, financial distress, audit committee, CEO duality and audit quality and the occurrence of material accounting misstatements by Malaysian listed companies. Managerial overconfidence and financial distress are viewed as motives for accounting misstatements in this study. Audit committee characteristics, i.e., independence and expertise of its members, CEO duality and audit quality are viewed as the ‘loopholes’ in corporate governance mechanisms that provide opportunities for proprietors to issue accounting misstatements. The sample for this study consists of 237 Malaysian listed companies, which includes data from misstated company reports with its respective matched data of non-misstated company reports. The results of this study show that financial distress and CEO duality are significantly related to the occurrence of accounting misstatements. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on how to mitigate accounting misstatements, especially with the inclusion of the managerial overconfidence variable, which is a new addition to the research on accounting misstatements in Malaysia.