The effort of transition to more environmentally friendly energy is required recently due to awareness on severe climate change, environmental damage, and to ensure a long-term environmental, economic and social sustainability. In Malaysia, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) type of business are importance in supporting and accelerating the national economic development. This type of business make up a large part of the country’s human workforce and contributed to more than 90 percent on the gross domestic product (GDP). Unfortunately, MSMEs have many reasons and experience several challenges to adopt energy transformation practices. Thus, the aim of the study is to explore the challenges and barriers faced by MSMEs in adopting sustainable energy solutions. A review from literature finds that among of these problems include high initial investment costs of renewable energy technologies, insufficient government support, lack of skilled workforce and poor knowledge on energy efficiency measures. The study also wishes to examine the role of policy, frameworks, financial incentives and capacity building in assisting MSMEs to transform their energy efficiency. This research also intend to assess the current state of energy use among Malaysian MSMEs and understand their needs to provide recommendations to overcome these obstacles. Implementation of renewable energy and elevation of energy-efficient practices by Malaysian MSMEs can contribute significantly to carbon emissions reduction. This will lead to a more sustainable low-carbon economy and hence achievement of Malaysian Net Zero target by 2030. Besides, stakeholder collaboration such as government agencies, industry players, regulatory bodies and financial institutions, are also critical in expediting a impactful energy transformation for small business in Malaysia.

This article discusses the impact of green tax incentives on driving Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) transformation among the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. ESG activities should be well adopted by large corporation, but it is yet to be fully understand and adopted by smaller businesses. ESG for SMEs is crucial because SMEs with robust ESG policies and activities will have a competitive edge and visibility among the investors, consumers and public at large. Thus, this paper explores how targeted tax policies can help SMEs in promoting sustainable business practices, reducing environmental impact, and fostering innovation. By incentivizing renewable energy, waste reduction, and resource efficiency, green tax incentives support small and medium-sized enterprises in meeting ESG goals and contributing to global sustainability targets as stated in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study highlights the role of government in designing effective tax frameworks, the benefits for businesses adopting these incentives, challenges and recommendations on the long-term economic and environmental advantages of a robust ESG transformation driven by green taxation.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the correlation between young Muslim consumers' intention to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) and their attitude, subjective norm and perceived control behaviour. It also investigated the moderating role of religiosity in the link between independent and dependent variables. Design/methodology/approach Drawing data from a sample of 210 young Muslim consumers, the current study used a cross-sectional survey design. To analyse the data, moderated mediation structural equation modelling using SPSS 28 and SmartPLS 3.0 was used. Findings The results showed a significant direct relationship between attitude, subjective norm and perceived control behaviour, all of which were associated with the intention to purchase an EV. However, the researchers discovered that religiosity's moderating role is insignificant for attitudes and subjective norms, but significant and negative for perceived behavioural control. Research limitations/implications This research was limited to a survey among the young Malaysian Muslim respondents. In the future, research should broaden the sample to encompass older generations, more countries and both Muslim and non-Muslim communities to comprehend their behaviours about green mobility. Practical implications The EV company can capitalize on the positive attitude of consumer green behaviour by highlighting EV's environmental benefits and fully use marketing strategies via social proof, influencers and community leaders. Besides, to improve consumers' perceived behaviour control, policies to support the use of EV need to be enhanced such as tax rebates, expanding charging infrastructure and constructing more service centres across the country. Originality/value This study is original as the findings provide evidence from a non-Western developing context, contributing to the global knowledge base by providing new evidence on the interaction between religiosity and environmental behaviour. The authors discuss the implications for theory and practitioners.

The purpose of this study is to examine what are some of the weaknesses in a cooperative body administration, that may related to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) activities. A case study approach was selected for this study by selecting one Islamic cooperative body in Malaysia as a study case. This study found that the selected cooperative has many weaknesses in their internal control procedures. Many errors in recording financial data lead to the fraud opportunity while manual recording of daily transaction contributes to recurring human errors. This indicate that this cooperative body yet to fully exercising ESG framework, particularly the governance pillar of the framework. This study however limited to only one organization and thus, its findings need to be generalised with precautions.

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between risk management practices and the internal audit function with the performance of companies. It is interesting to examine how competitive advantage can be achieved when the company is able to face and adapt to a complex business environment via robust risk management practices and an internal audit function. This study uses archival analysis on the annual report of the top 500 publicly listed companies in Bursa Malaysia, which represent approximately 65 percent of the total market capitalization. Both independent variables, namely risk management and internal audit function, are measured based on corporate governance requirements which are issued by the Malaysian authorities, and best practices taken from various international corporate governance recommendations. The results from the multiple regression analysis provides evidence that risk management was significantly positively related with all the performance measurements, supported the earlier findings by Krause and Thse (2016) and Nahar et al. (2016), while there is a mixed findings between the internal audit function and corporate performance. This study is original as it not only examines risk management practices and internal audit function from a local corporate governance perspective but also takes into consideration various recommendations from international best practices.

An investor relations function fosters continuous and direct communication between executives and stakeholders (Chapman et al., 2022). However, this function does not attract sufficient attention from the researchers, and not much literature documenting and evidence of the importance of developing strong relationships between firms with both shareholders and other stakeholders, which can lead to long-term partnership, increased loyalty, and hence, better operations carried out by the business entities. In light of this, the objective of this study is to investigate the connection between the level of engagement of shareholders and the profitability of corporations. This study uses content analysis on the financial statements of the 442 largest publicly listed companies in Malaysia by market value to examine the investor relations practices. This study finds that the proactive engagement with shareholders had a significant positive relationship with corporate performance. No significant relationship was found between general meetings with corporate performance. This study provides further evidence on the importance of a good governance process via the inclusivity of shareholders and stakeholders in certain corporate exercises and activities (Lu et al., 2023). Specifically, this study emphasises the advantages of ongoing shareholder engagement for the company’s performance. Consequently, the corporation must enhance its initiatives to foster an active discussion with various groups of shareholders and stakeholders.

Accountants are one of the most important professions nowadays because, with their education and experience, they can assist the government in building the nation. However, the recent trend shows that the demand for competent accountants is increasing due to the importance of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, coupled with the explosion of financial technology. Unfortunately, current working accountants and recent accounting graduates are struggling to meet these international demands, as employers are finding it difficult to find competent accountants who are knowledgeable about ESG and experts in financial technology. Thus, this paper intends to discuss and propose an accounting competencies framework that meets the needs of industries, supports government aspirations to develop via technological advancement, and balances social and economic development based on ESG principles. It is expected that this competency framework related to ESG and financial technology will benefit the accounting profession and higher learning institutions by allowing them to design more industrial-relevant training and educational qualifications. This paper is significant because it ensures there is no shortage of accountants with ESG skills and knowledge, and it can support a government plan to achieve net zero by 2050.

This bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive look at the current research trends in Islamic environmental, social, and governance (ESG) over 12 years, from 2012 to 2023. The study encompasses a dataset of 54 papers from the SCOPUS database and employs various bibliometric metrics, including author-based, country-based, and organization-based citations. The results indicate a variable growth in the number of publications in this research domain over the period, with a particularly significant surge observed between 2021 and 2023. The descriptive analysis identifies the most prolific countries and document types within Islamic environmental, social, and governance realms. The citation analysis identifies the most influential authors, organizations, and countries shaping this field. In summary, the results show that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and practices that include Islamic teachings and values still demonstrate a significant gap, and recommendations are provided for future research based on the primary issues and gaps discovered from the current trends. These findings are valuable for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers seeking insights into this study area.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between board responsibility and the performance of the company. It is the ultimate responsibility of the board to properly discharge their duty as stipulated by the laws and prohibit any unnecessary actions and decisions that are detrimental to the company (Salin, Ismail, et al., 2019). Board responsibility in this study is proxied by having a clear board function, formation of sustainability policy, directors’ access to information and existence of a board charter. This study uses archival analysis of the annual report of the top 500 publicly listed companies in Malaysia by market capitalisation. This study finds that only sustainability policies had a significant positive relationship with corporate performance which is consistent with many prior empirical findings (Orlitzky et al., 2003). No significant relationship was found between clear board function, directors’ access to information and the existence of a board charter with corporate performance. It can be concluded that board responsibility in terms of sustainability does influence the corporate performance of the company. This paper is relevant as it shows that by adopting a good sustainability policy and strategy, the company can improve overall managing efficiency and create long-term values which enhance the worth of the company.

The COVID-19 crisis has irrefutably impacted occupations by increasing technological adoption on a global scale. In this context, the accounting profession also feels the heat, as the technological impact could be significant for many businesses. However, the impacts and phenomena are still under investigation and unexplored in many jobs and professions, particularly in the accounting field or less developed countries like Malaysia. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to ascertain the effects of technological adoption, specifically financial technology (Fintech), on the accounting profession, and to explore how higher education institutions can adapt to meet the evolving needs and characteristics of accounting graduates in the industry. This study uses semi-structured interviews with six (6) accountants who are currently employed in various organisations, such as government organisations, private sector and government link companies. The interview data is analyzed using three qualitative analysis stages: data reduction, data display, and data conclusion. According to this study, employers of future accounting graduates seek skills and technical knowledge related to information technology, accounting, and law. This study underscores the significance of the skills and knowledge that accounting graduates must possess, particularly those necessary during and after pandemic periods. Additionally, this study focuses on the environment of developing countries, an area currently under research. This study also offers recommendations to address the existing skills and knowledge gap in the job market. This will benefit both practitioners and academics.

The purpose of the study is to explore the responsibilities of directors in creating a good ethical culture in their organisation and examine whether good ethical practices are able to enhance a company’s performance. To achieve this purpose, face-to-face semi-structured interviews with directors as the respondents are employed as a data collection method. This study found that board ethical commitments are necessary elements for sustaining the good performance of a company. The planning and monitoring of these ethical practices are the responsibilities of the board of directors, which then will be executed by top management, led by the chief executive officer (CEO). To ensure effectiveness, the code of ethics should not merely be a statement of intent but must be institutionalised and embedded in the working environment of the company. Trust, regulatory compliance, and good reputation are among the benefits derived if a company has good ethical practices. The result provides evidence of the roles and duties of the directors in nurturing a good ethical culture, which can lead to the sustainable performance of the company. This study is original as it examines corporate ethical issues by using a qualitative approach and considers the contribution of ethical elements from the directors’ point of view, which is rare in business ethics literature. This study contributed by assisting the companies in formulating clear policies and guiding directors’ ethical behaviours in order to hold them accountable for decisions made in the company. This will ensure directors make responsible and appropriate decisions in discharging their duties as directors.

The majority of worldwide corporate governance codes mandate that directors allocate an adequate amount of time to fulfil their responsibilities and consistently enhance their knowledge and abilities through continuous education programs. These two factors are crucial in propelling the organisation towards higher levels of success and satisfying the needs of the stakeholders. This research aims to analyse the impact of board commitment and their access to education on firm performance. After analysing the annual reports of Malaysian public listed companies, this study does not find any conclusive evidence to support earlier research that highlights the advantages of having a director who is committed to the firm and has strong access to educational programs. This might be attributed to the challenge of quantifying the influence of board commitment and their educational opportunities, which may manifest over long periods of time, therefore, making it difficult to capture instant or short-term effects. In addition to assisting policymakers and the company in effectively guiding and monitoring their governance commitment, this study contributes by highlighting the significance of board commitment and board access to education in influencing the performance of the company. Additionally, it contributes to the enhancement of education platforms that are specifically designed for the board of directors.

This study aims to investigate how transparency affects the company’s performance. Transparency in corporate governance is crucial to prevent misconduct, encourage accountability, and integrity, and ultimately, enhance sustainable performance in businesses. In contrast, inadequate disclosure of information can lead to business scandals and fraud, diminishing trust in institutions, harming stakeholders, and adversely affecting the entire economy (Salin et al., 2019). The study measures transparency through firm disclosure policy and website informativeness. This study employs archival analysis of the annual reports of the top 500 publicly listed firms in Malaysia based on market capitalization. Nine items were created to assess the independent variables, while the dependent variable was business performance, represented by return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA), Tobin’s Q, and market-to-book ratio (MTB). This study concludes that there is no substantial association between the company’s disclosure policy and website informativeness and corporate performance, leading to the rejection of both hypotheses. In the age of digital transformation and artificial intelligence, companies have various alternative methods to disseminate information besides annual reports and websites.

The issue of women in business or women in entrepreneurship has attracted much attention from researchers and practitioners in recent years, particularly in developing countries. This is due to the ability of women entrepreneurs to make a significant contribution to economic growth, country development, and escaping poverty. However, what determines their critical success factors as women entrepreneur is still under research. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of business sustainability specifically among women entrepreneurs. This study is original as it focuses on the business performance of women entrepreneurs during the pandemic crisis. This research used a market survey among women entrepreneurs as its research design and data collection. Seven constructs, comprised of six independent variables and one dependent variable, were used in the study. The independent variables are competency, marketing capability, financing resources, technology usage, motivation, and family support, while the dependent variable is business sustainability. This study used Resource-based View Theory (RBV) as its foundation for the research framework. This study finds that only family support influences business sustainability, while the other construct does not provide any conclusive evidence. This empirical study suggests that more support and training need to be provided by government agencies to ensure the survivability of women entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

Commercial banks are the principal players in the banking system as they constitute the largest and most significant providers of funds. Their core function is to provide retail banking services, including accepting deposits, granting loans and advances, and financial guarantees. Customers are offered a variety of bank credit or loan options, which include Simple Interest, Simple Interest with Compensating Balance, Discount Interest, and Discount Interest with Compensating Balance. However, customers are not always cognizant of the best available option. The most economical alternative is the one that offers the lowest annual interest cost, which is referred to as the effective annual rate (EAR). Unfortunately, not all customers are proficient in calculating EAR, which is where My eCredit Banking Apps Version 3 (MECBA V3) comes into play. This innovative application assists borrowers in determining the most suitable interest rate and financial alternatives offered by commercial banks in Malaysia. By employing MECBA V3, customers can save both time and money in selecting the optimal alternative, as these calculations can be laborious and complicated. Selecting the appropriate option is critical, as loans can have extended repayment periods, resulting in a considerable amount of money being repaid. Therefore, My eCredit Banking Apps Version 3 (MECBA V3) is the optimal solution for making well-informed credit banking choices.

The COVID-19 crisis has had an impact on every aspect of human life, including business. Many industries ground to a halt, and some businesses had to resort to liquidation. In this context, corporate governance was not spared the effects of the pandemic either, as the crisis almost paralyzed the entire business ecosystem. Therefore, this research aims to determine the most affected area of companies’ corporate governance and examine how companies changed their corporate governance structure in response to the COVID-19 crisis to ensure the survival of their business. Thirty-seven publicly listed companies were selected as the samples of the study. Their annual reports were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis technique. The results showed that the majority of companies had to transfer their Annual General Meeting (AGM) or/and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to an online platform, while the shareholders were required to vote electronically. Moreover, some companies had to revise their budget, revisit their strategic plan, reduce director fees, send their directors for additional training, or conduct board evaluations online.

The recent pandemic crisis that occurred across the globe has changed the way human lives including the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). However, the adoption of technology due to the crisis in financial function is still under research, knowing that Malaysia is an emerging country that still lag behind in responding to Industrial Revolution 4.0. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the current state of technology adoption by the finance professional and their determinants to adopt technology, specifically financial technology (Fintech) in the workplace. To achieve these purposes, questionnaires were distributed online to collect the information. It comprises three sections namely demographic information, information on respondents’ experience and knowledge on Fintech and finally the factors that affect users’ intention to use Fintech. This research adopted the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) theoretical framework as a theoretical foundation of the study. The findings showed that while the respondents are considered as highly experienced and heavy technology users, they have a moderate knowledge of technology. In addition, performance expectancy, behavioral intention and attitude are the biggest influence for them to adopt Fintech in the workplace. This finding shows that many finance professionals in Malaysia do not refuse to revolutionize their work process by transforming their job tools from manual-based to computerized operation and use more sophisticated devices.

As Malaysia now facing many problems like high living cost, unemployment, natural disaster, corruption and high crime rate, adopting Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) standards and practices is a must by every business entity. For large company like public listed companies (PLCs), complying with ESG not a huge problem due to their size and nature of business that directly impact the ESG elements. However, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) find difficulties to meet ESG rigorous standards due to lack of fund, expertise, and knowledge. Besides, it is not feasible for them to meet all the requirements due to their small size and narrow nature of business. Thus, the objective of this paper is to discuss the problems and challenges faced by MSMEs to adopt ESG at every level of their business operations.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate of firm's performance through water awareness, intellectual capital, and corporate social responsibility. Theoretical framework: The main goal of the signaling theory by Spence (2002) is to reduce the information asymmetry between two parties. Research by Ericson and Call (2008), Shabaati et al. (2010), Helena, Pedro, and Jardon (2010), and others have demonstrated that intellectual capital has a favorable impact on performance. Clacher, Hagendorff, Jo, and Harjoto (2012), as well as Ameer and Othman (2012), discovered a beneficial relationship between CSR and a company's financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: The present study was conducted on 21 manufacturing companies in Indonesia with a total of 106 samples. The data of the present study were financial reports and sustainability reports which were obtained from the Indonesian stock exchange website and each company's website during the period 2015-2019 by using purposive sampling techniques and multiple linear regression methods. Findings: The findings revealed that water awareness and corporate social responsibility affect company performance, but not the firm’s intellectual capital. However, a firm's sustainability is empirically proven to affect company performance. Research, Practical & Social implications: This study is useful for managers to examine the effectiveness of water awareness and sustainability practices including intellectual capital towards the company's performance. Originality/value: The value of the study is useful for managers to examine the affect company performance, but not the firm’s intellectual capital. However, a firm's sustainability is empirically proven to affect company performance. This measurement of firm’s sustainability model will be very useful for decision makers and policy makers.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic, which led to lockdowns and new working norms, has influenced business and accounting transactions in significant ways. This phenomenon and its longer-term impacts are still under-researched and remain unexplored in emerging countries, particularly Malaysia. Therefore, the current study intended to determine the actions taken by Malaysian organizations, specifically in their accounting and finance functions, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Online survey questionnaires were distributed to collect data. The questionnaires comprised several sections, including demographic information of the respondents and factors affecting users’ intentions to use technology for accounting and finance functions in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. This research adopted the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model as a theoretical basis from which to evaluate the research objectives. The findings showed that only performance expectancy is related to user intention, while other factors, such as effort, attitude, social influence, self-efficacy, and anxiety, display the opposite effect. This empirical study suggests that accounting and finance functions in Malaysia still lag behind in terms of the technology used by employees. In addition, organizations, particularly government departments, are not ready to adopt a fully integrated scientific accounting and finance system.