Internal Control Systems in West Malaysia’s State Mosques

Abstract

The embezzlement of funds from religious organizations, particularly in western church institutions, is becoming more common. Such scandals have raised concerns about their internal control systems. Despite the lack of any reported financial scandals in mosques, there is a growing concern as to whether they experience the same deficiencies as other religious institutions do. Our study examines the internal control procedures related to the receiving income and disbursing funds in West Malaysia’s state mosques. A questionnaire survey and informal interviews were used to collect the data. The results indicate that these mosques have a strong internal control system vis-à-vis these two activities. This study also reveals that their practice of several basic control activities (e.g., segregating duties, recording financial transactions, and authorizing particular activities) is satisfactory. Though this is an exploratory study, the results may provide a benchmark for further studies examining internal control practices in religious organizations.

Financial Management Practices in Malaysian Islamic Social Enterprise (ISE)

“…These items were included on the disclosure of income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, changes in equity, notes to the accounts, revenues and expenditures, activities conducted, activities planned in the future and separate income generation (Siraj, 2012). Internal control practices were measured using 23 items based on the literature by Kamaruddin and Ramli (2017), Sulaiman et al (2008) and Widyaningsih (2015). These items included segregation of duties, authorisation of transactions, documentations and records and physical control over assets.…”

“…Meanwhile, internal control practices ensure that ISEs operate according to the standards and guidelines set by the organisation (Kamaruddin & Auzair, 2019). Furthermore, proper internal control practices will ensure ISEs utilise their financial resources in best practices and offer ISEs stakeholder assurance and confidence (Sulaiman et al, 2008). Moreover, one way to demonstrate accountability in ISEs is by having strong internal control systems (Feng et al, 2019).…”

“…In order to have good accountability practices in Malaysian ISEs, several factors have been identified especially from financial management practices (Kamaruddin & Auzair, 2019). These include financial disclosure (Connolly & Kelly, 2020), internal control (Sulaiman et al, 2008;Widyaningsih, 2015), financial planning and budgeting (Othman et al, 2012) as well as financial performance management (Beamon & Balcik, 2008). However, there is still a lack of studies on financial management especially for Malaysian ISEs.…”

Sustainability Assessment of Mosque: A Case Study of Design Proposal in Bandar Bertam Jaya, Penang

“…With large amounts of sunlight penetration into the mosque, less dependency on mechanical lighting will occur and thus, reducing the energy usage of the building. In Malaysia, even though mosques are managed by the state government including financing mosque's staff and operational cost [19], energy saving should be practiced in a way to promote building sustainability as mentioned in the United Nations: Sustainable Development Goals.…”

The Role of Mosque to Avoid Violent Extremism: A Comparative Study of Eastern and Western Countries

“…The literal meaning of 'Mosque' is the 'place of prostration ' (Warraich & Feroze, 2007;Sulaiman, Siraj, & Ibrahim, 2008). Ibn Manzūr (1990) also described the root of the word 'Masjid' as sajada-yasjudu-sujūdan means prostration, bowing, and submission (Lisan al-Arab, 1997).…”