Increasingly, internship has become an essential component of the undergraduate programme. It provides students with a smooth transition from the on-campus environment to the working environment. It is often viewed as a 'win-win' situation for both the intern and the intern's employers. Students are able to learn about the profession and gain practical experience while simultaneously being able to reflect on what they have learned in the classroom. Employers benefit from internships as interns are sources of future employees. This paper examines whether the expected benefits of internship, as perceived by interns before going for their internship, are actually achieved.

This study seeks to add to understanding of the concept and attributes of audit quality from the perspective of those responsible for delivery audit services, the auditors, as a key constituent group in the auditing system. The study surveyed two groups of external auditors (group 1- audit partners and managerial level and, group 2 - senior auditors and junior auditors), as a basis to compare their perceptions on important of auditors and audit process attributes in achieving audit quality in practice. The study was conducted in the form of a survey, with data being gathered via questionnaire. Returned surveys from external auditors yielded a 37% response rate. Overall, top 5 highest rated attributes of audit quality reported to be most important in determining audit quality are: compliance with the International Standard Quality Control (ISCQ) 1, obtaining credible and sufficient audit evidence, technical expertise of audit team, audit work meeting the audit firms’ quality standards, and competency of the audit team. Further analysis shows that the two groups of respondents have differential views on attributes of audit quality in practice. Group 1 perceived attributes of audit quality are related to auditor’s assessment of risk and internal quality review procedures within the audit firm. In comparison, group 2 perceived auditors’ competency and compliance with relevant standards as indicators of audit quality. This study suggests differences in underlying view about attributes audit quality in practice by the two groups of auditors. Public accounting firms might be interested to understand such underlying differences so that efforts in improving audit quality in practice would be focusing on the key attributes that perceived to be important on delivery high-quality audit services. This study is significant by extending the literature on audit quality and also provides useful input to public accounting firms in improving audit quality in practice.

This paper investigates the disclosure quality of governance issues in annual reports of Malaysian PLCs. In recent years, the issue of corporate governance (CG) has received more attention than it would ordinarily have as a result of a series of corporate failures. Corporate collapses like Enron Corporation (US), Barings Empire (UK) and in Malaysia cases such as Perwaja and Pan Electric Inc. are all rooted in the lack of a proper governance system. As a result, the Finance Committee on Corporate Governance was established in 1998 to undertake a review of the legal and regulatory infrastructure, specifically to evaluate its effectiveness in promoting sound CG standards in Malaysia. Following this development, a few guidelines on CG have been released, particularly addressing the principles and best practices such as the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (the Code), the Capital Market Master Plan, and the Financial Sector Master Plan. The main purpose of these guidelines is to strengthen CG standards and practices in Malaysia by focusing on the role and responsibilities of various CG participants, mainly the management, board of directors, audit committee (AC), external and internal auditors. Secondary data is used in this study. A disclosure index is established following the Bursa Malaysia Governance Model, the Code's guidelines and Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) guidelines. This study also aims to examine factors that possibly affect both the quality and quantity of disclosure. In general, it may be concluded that Malaysian companies have complied with the standards requirements. Only three factors under observation namely leverage, size and type of industry were found to have relationship with the quality of disclosure relates to governance issues.

Manuscript type: Research paper Purpose: This study examines the views of internal auditors and auditees on factors affecting internal audit effectiveness (IAE) in insurance and takaful companies in Malaysia. Design/Methodology/Approach: A total of 240 respondents participated in a self-administered survey questionnaire. Findings: Multiple regression analyses suggests independence as well as the resources of internal audit functions (IAF) and relationship with the audit committee is perceived to affect IAE. However, management support is perceived to be less significant in affecting IAE. Furthermore, independent t-test and eta squared analyses show that respondents perceive the factors that significantly affect IAE differently, with independent internal audits scoring the highest. Research limitations/Implications: The respondents were only limited to internal auditors and auditees in insurance and takaful companies. Practical implications: Such empirical evidence is expected to be used by companies, regulators as well as researchers in understanding the prevailing factors affecting IAE in insurance and takaful companies. Originality/Value: The value of this study is grounded on limited studies of IAE in the financial industry, specifically insurance and takaful companies, and the analysis of both auditors and auditees’ views on the principal factors affecting IAE.

Property investment in Malaysia has experienced tremendous growth and is considered one of the prime investments by investors due to its stable return growth over the years. This study examined the effects of six financial determinants (earnings per share, debts to assets, price-to-book value, dividend yield, market capitalisation, and return on equity) on the annual return of Malaysian Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). The common performance indicator of company can be seen in the percentage change in stock price plus when the dividend paid at the end of the year is used to measure the annual return performance of REITs. A total of 154 firm year observations for a sample of 14 Malaysian REIT companies were examined for a period of 11 years (2008-2018) from the Bloomberg terminal. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that there is a positive relationship between earning per share, price-to-book value and dividend yield and REITs’ annual return. On the other hand, this study showed that there is no significant relationship between debts to assets and REITs’ annual return. The results also showed that market capitalisation and return on equity are negatively related to Malaysian REITs’ annual returns. Overall, the results highlighted two key features. First, earnings per share and return on equity should be used by investors and management to assess the profitability and operational efficiency of REITS. Second, the investors should use dividend yield as one of the key investment criteria when assessing REIT investment decisions. This study contributed to the literature in REITs by increasing the effects of the explanatory power of financial determinants on REITs’ annual returns.