Purpose This paper aims to investigate the contribution of attitude, subjective norm and religiosity on the intention to adopt Islamic banking in an emerging economy like Uganda, which is a secular state that is in the early stages of adopting Islamic banking. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a cross-sectional and correlational research design. Usable questionnaires were received from 258 managers of their own micro businesses. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Results indicate that attitude and religiosity are significant determinants of the intention to adopt Islamic banking, unlike subjective norm whose predictive power is subsumed in attitude. In the absence of attitude, subjective norm is a significant determinant of intention to adopt Islamic banking. Overall, attitude, subjective norm and religiosity explain 44 per cent of the variance in the intention to adopt Islamic banking in Uganda. Research limitations/implications This study is cross-sectional, excluding the monitoring of changes in behavior over time. Further, the study used evidence from owner-managed micro businesses in Uganda. It is possible that these results are only applicable to Uganda’s micro businesses. Originality/value Islamic banking is an emerging phenomenon on the African continent, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where most countries are secular states. As such, there are largely no empirical studies exploring the combined contributions of attitude, subjective norm and religiosity on the intention to adopt Islamic banking in an emerging economy after the national adoption of an enabling legal framework. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study that carries out this task.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of internal audit function and audit committee effectiveness on accountability in statutory corporations (SCs). Design/methodology/approach This study is cross sectional and correlational. Data have been collected through a questionnaire survey of 52 SCs in Uganda through their Chief Internal Auditors and Chief Finance Officers. Data have been analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Findings The internal audit function significantly contributes to accountability of SCs in Uganda and audit committee effectiveness is not where effective internal audit is present in such organisations. However, audit committee effectiveness significantly contributes to accountability when an internal audit function is not present. Research limitations/implications The use of hierarchical regression is prone to problems associated with sampling error. However, the likelihood of these problems is mitigated by the interface with data. Originality/value Whereas hitherto both internal audit function and audit committee effectiveness had been viewed as explanations of accountability, this study only confirms the internal audit function as a significant predictor of SCs’ accountability relative to audit committee effectiveness.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the interactive effects of professionalism in the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and performance of small and medium audit practices (SMPs) within the context of a developing economy, Uganda. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 77 SMPs registered with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda through their managing partners. The authors utilized multiple regression analysis to test hypotheses using centered variables and an interaction term between IC and professionalism. Findings IC is a significant determinant of performance of SMPs in Uganda; while professionalism when acting alone is not significant, however, results have shown that professionalism interacts with IC to enhance performance of SMPs. Research limitations/implications This study, owing to the absence of publically available published financial statements of SMPs, utilizes a questionnaire to collect data on performance of SMPs which could be less objective. Further, as the study is limited to SMPs in Uganda, it is possible that the results are only applicable to Uganda’s accountancy field. In addition, the use of multiple regression is prone to problems associated with sampling error. However, the likelihood of these problems is mitigated by the interface with data and regression analysis diagnostics that were carried out. Originality/value This study provides initial empirical evidence on the relationship between IC, professionalism and performance of SMPs in developing economies. The study further indicates that while IC acts independently to influence firm performance, its interaction with professionalism enhances this performance.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the extent and impact of gender diversity and intellectual capital on compliance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting standards by Uganda manufacturing companies.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from manufacturing firms in Uganda using a questionnaire survey to find out their perception of compliance with the GRI standards. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences, Microsoft Excel and smart partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM).FindingsThe results indicate that on average, manufacturing firms in Uganda comply with GRI sustainability reporting standards to the extent of 59%. The results further indicate that manufacturing companies comply more with the GRI 200 (economic performance disclosures) to the extent of 63% as compared with 55% for GRI 300 (environmental performance disclosures) and 58% for GRI 400 (social performance disclosures). The results also indicate that intellectual capital has a significant impact on the GRI-based sustainability performance disclosures in Uganda. However, board gender diversity has no significant effect. In terms of the control variables, only firm size is significant, while firm age, capital structure and auditor type are not.Originality/valueThis study provides first time evidence of the extent of compliance with the GRI sustainability reporting standards using evidence from Uganda – an African developing country. This study widens the understanding of the usage of GRI standards in the preparation of sustainability reports by manufacturing firms in an emerging economy. This study also provides first-time evidence on the role of gender diversity and intellectual capital in GRI-based sustainability performance disclosures using evidence from Uganda's manufacturing sector.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the constructs of professionalism (Hall, 1968), rewards (Bartol, 1979) and job satisfaction (Stamps and Piedmonte, 1986; Hampton and Hampton, 2004) can be used as valid predictors of organizational commitment (Porter et al., 1974) in an emerging economy context. Design/methodology/approach-Using pre-existing scales for these constructs, the authors collected data from 277 ICPAU licensees' and carried out a factor analysis to examine their validity. Given the relevance of the organizational-professional conflict (OPC) debate to performance in public and private sector organizations, the authors use ANOVA to assess whether there are significant differences between CPAs in the private and public sectors. We also develop a structural equation model to assess the extent to which organizational commitment can be explained by professionalism, rewards and job satisfaction. Findings-The findings show that the four scales can be used as valid measures in an emerging market environment, albeit with some modifications. The correlations between the study variables are significant (po0.01) but weak. There are also no significant differences between the scores of private and public sector Certified Public Accountant (CPAs) on professionalism, rewards and organizational commitment. However, there is significantly lower job satisfaction amongst CPAs employed in the public sector. The authors also find that job satisfaction is the best predictor of organizational commitment. Professionalism and rewards are weak predictors of organizational commitment. The fitted model shows that there is a weak fit between organizational commitment and professionalism, rewards and job satisfaction (GFI ¼ 0.86, RMSEA ¼ 0.086). Originality/value-The authors modify the extant measurement scales for use in emerging market conditions and show that with some adjustment, they are robust measures of the study variables. The paper also extends the organizational commitment (OC) debate to emerging market conditions and shows that rewards on their own are not enough to ensure organizational commitment amongst professionals. It is important to improve job satisfaction through more enriching work experience.