On Thursday, August 26, 2021, the Department of Accounting held Webinar Series #1 with the theme "Research Trends in Public Sector Accounting and Auditing" with speakers Prof. Nafsiah Mohamed and Dr. Noor Marini Hj Abdullah from Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia, moderated by Dr. Devi S. Kalanjati, Lecturer in Accounting Universitas Airlangga. This webinar was attended by around 200 participants from students and practitioners.

Prof. Nafsiah Mohamed discussed the latest public sector accounting research themes and future theme trends. Prof. Nafsiah stated that the current themes discuss more forms of accounting measurement, monetary, and more on numbers. Meanwhile, regarding future trends, Prof. Nafsiah mentioned that themes on the digital world, financial criminology , and the Covid-19 pandemic will be widely discussed in the future. For example, for the digital world , Prof. Nafsiah discussed how the government has currently spent the budget on technology, we need to know who oversees the use of the budget and know whether the public has received the benefits according to what they should get. She also emphasized that both directly and indirectly, research in the public sector needs to be directed at financial and non-financial aspects, and answer the "why" and "how"; why a case occurs and how research results can provide input for regulations. Prof. Nafsiah also emphasized that our future trends should not only focus on facts and figures, we need to discuss whether the public sector has served the public well ( citizen-oriented ).

Meanwhile, Dr. Marini presented her research entitled “Non-audit services, audit opinion, culture, affiliated directors, and fraudulent financial reporting: Evidence from Malaysia.” This study examined four factors associated with fraudulent financial reporting (FFR) in Malaysian public companies (PLCs). The study hypothesized that non-audit services (NAS) provided by auditors, audit opinions, the composition of native directors on the board, and affiliated directors are associated with FFR. The sample consisted of 41 companies sanctioned for securities fraud and 41 companies not subject to fraud, all listed on Bursa Malaysia and with a complete set of financial reporting data from 1999 to 2009. The results revealed that audit services and NAS provided together were significantly and positively associated with FFR. With regard to audit opinions, companies that received other than an unqualified audit opinion (WTP) before the fraud year had a positive association with FFR. The study also revealed that the proportion of affiliated directors on the board had a significant negative association with FFR. However, this study also shows a significant positive relationship between the composition of bumiputra directors on the board and FFR.

Watch this webinar again on our YouTube channel!