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Mazrah Malek

Universiti Utara Malaysia, Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy (TISSA-UUM), Faculty Member

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A passionate academician at heart with more than 15 years of teaching experience in the field of accounting and audit. Joined the public institution of higher learning at the age of 22 as a Tutor in Universiti Putra Malaysia after completing my undergraduate study and hasn't turn back since then. I later pursued my postgraduate studies (i.e. MSc. and PhD) with full scholarships and in 2016 joined Universiti Utara Malaysia after spending more than 14 years in my previous tenure (as a Senior Lecturer).

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Papers by Mazrah Malek

IFRS Adoption and Audit Delay: The Role of Shareholders in the Audit Committee

International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting

This study examined the relationship between audit delay after IFRS adoption and the role of shar... more This study examined the relationship between audit delay after IFRS adoption and the role of shareholders in the audit committee as well as testing the difference of pre-and post IFRS adoption periods. A sample of 101 firms with 505 firm-year observations over five year period for firms listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange was employed for the study, utilizing data from the annual report and accounts of the sample firms. Generalized Methods of Moment (GMM) estimation was used to check the effects of unobserved heterogeneity in audit delay model, while the test of difference in R2 value for pre-and post-adoption periods was determined using Cramer’s Z-statistics. Findings indicate that audit report lag is faster with shareholders in the audit committee. The study proved that brand named auditors such as Big4 can significantly perform faster audit task than non-Big4 firms in IFRS regime. The importance of the study’s findings demonstrates statistical inference on value relevance incre...

Shareholder’s involvement in the audit committee, audit quality and financial reporting lag in Nigeria

Business and Economic Horizons

The study investigates shareholders impact as audit committee members and two attributes of audit... more The study investigates shareholders impact as audit committee members and two attributes of audit quality in relation to financial reporting lag (FRL). The data were collected from firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for 2011 to 2015 financial years. The study utilizes panel corrected standard errors (PCSEs) and quantiles regression. Findings indicate a negative and significant relationship between SFEX, SACR, BLKH, ROA, GWTH and (FRL). The study finds evidence that shareholders can enhance reporting timeliness while Big4 audit firms can perform faster audit work. The result also shows a glimpse of the level of non-compliance with regulation.

Value relevance of financial reporting: Evidence from Malaysia

Cogent Economics & Finance

The objective of this paper is to examine the value relevance of financial reporting from a devel... more The objective of this paper is to examine the value relevance of financial reporting from a developing country perspective after the adoption of the full set of IFRS. The study utilizes the Ohlson price model to determine the value relevance of financial reporting. The findings show that generally earnings, book value of equity and cash flow from operations are useful for investment decision making, whereas, there is an increasing significance of cash flow from operations in the Malaysian Capital Market. This finding is not consistent with the rationale given by conceptual framework for financial reporting regarding the dominance of earnings in investment decision making due to the perception of managerial bias in the reported earnings and book value of equity in the Malaysian Capital Market over the period 2012-2106. The findings have an important implication for regulators and local standards-setting body to curtail earnings management practices to improve the quality of earnings and book value of equity to increase the investor's confidence in general purpose financial reporting. The findings of the study contribute to the existing literature by performing a detailed empirical analysis of the value relevance of financial reporting in Malaysia, a developing country where the full set of IFRS has been implemented.

Audit Partner Quality and Audit Report Timeliness in Oman: A Conceptual Framework

International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting

In response to recent call on the need for audit scholars to utilize a richer set of audit firm c... more In response to recent call on the need for audit scholars to utilize a richer set of audit firm characteristics, auditor ofﬁce, and the individual partner characteristics to capture audit competency, this study aims to expand the scope of relevant research by conceptually examining the association between audit partner quality by three characteristics namely, education, experience and tenure, and audit report timeliness in the emerging market, based on previous literature. This study adds to the growing research by providing the conceptual model showing the importance of audit partner characteristics (e.g. education, experience and tenure) affecting the quality of audit outputs such as audit report timeliness, and agency theory is predicted to explain this effect on the audit report timeliness.

Audit Committee Characteristics and Audit Report Lag: Evidence From Oman

International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting

This study examines and provides empirical evidence on the association between audit committee ch... more This study examines and provides empirical evidence on the association between audit committee characteristics and audit report lag, by using data from 255 companies listed in the Muscat Securities market from 2013 to 2017. Multivariate analyses show that audit committee size positively associated with audit report lag and audit committee financial expertise reduces audit lag. However, this study does not find evidence that audit committee independence and meetings are associated with audit report lag. This study concludes that internal mechanisms of corporate governance in Oman are not effective compared to more developed nations and that policymakers in this emerging market should enforce and motivate practices of corporate governance in substance rather than simply adhering to practices in the form.

Investors’ response on the deviation between quarterly and annual earnings

SHS Web of Conferences, 2017

Despite the benefits of timely information, concerns have been raised on the reliability of the q... more Despite the benefits of timely information, concerns have been raised on the reliability of the quarterly accounts. The occurrence of deviation between audited annual accounts and cumulative quarterly accounts indicates the misstatements in the latter. This study examines investors' response towards the occurrence of the deviation. Data is based on 792 listed companies of Bursa Malaysia in 2012. The results of the OLS regression show that the companies without earnings deviation have significantly higher earnings response coefficient than companies experiencing earnings deviation. It is also found that understated quarterly earnings companies have higher earnings response coefficient than overstated companies. Results imply that investors place higher reliability on the quarterly accounts produced by companies without earnings deviation. Higher reliability is placed on the understated quarterly earnings companies as compared to overstated companies. Findings suggest that investors do value the occurrence and types of earnings deviation. Therefore, steps should be taken to overcome the occurrence of deviation.

The Impact of Interlocking Directorates on Corporate Performance of Bursa Malaysia Listed Companies

Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities

One of the main concerns about interlocking directorates is their effect on corporate performance... more One of the main concerns about interlocking directorates is their effect on corporate performance; however, there is little research undertaken on this issue. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the effect of interlocking directorates on corporate performance by considering the nature and the direction of interlocking. The analyses are based on the data of 741 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia in 2007. The Ordinary Least Square regression results show that the number of interlocking companies, inter-industry interlocking directorates and interlocking created by independent directors are all significant and positively related to corporate performance, which is consistent with the resource dependence theory and the corporate governance theory. However, it is also discovered that both multiple directorships by executive directors and non-executive non-independent directors do not have any effect on corporate performance, which is consistent with the class integration theory. Despite the negative perception on interlocking directorates by the public, the findings suggest that interlocking directorates actually benefit shareholders by enhancing the earnings performance of the corporation.

Audit Services Fee, Non-Audit Services and the Reliability of Earnings

International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 2013

External auditing is essential due to the belief that it can enhance users' reliability of the fi... more External auditing is essential due to the belief that it can enhance users' reliability of the financial reports. However, negative perception on auditor's independence decreases investors' reliability on the reports. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of audit and non-audit fees on earnings response coefficient. Negative perception on auditor's independence concerning the high amount of fees decreases the investors' reliability on audited earnings and thus, results in lower ERCs. Based on 270 listed companies on the Bursa Malaysia in 2011, the OLS regression result shows that investors place lower reliability on earnings audited by highly paid auditors. Investors view high fees as a form of compensation to the auditors. The finding is consistent with earlier perceived studies which had found negative perceptions on high fees.

Auditor Switching and Investors' Reliance on Earnings: Evidence From Bursa Malaysia

ABSTRACT

IFRS Adoption and Audit Delay: The Role of Shareholders in the Audit Committee

International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting

This study examined the relationship between audit delay after IFRS adoption and the role of shar... more This study examined the relationship between audit delay after IFRS adoption and the role of shareholders in the audit committee as well as testing the difference of pre-and post IFRS adoption periods. A sample of 101 firms with 505 firm-year observations over five year period for firms listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange was employed for the study, utilizing data from the annual report and accounts of the sample firms. Generalized Methods of Moment (GMM) estimation was used to check the effects of unobserved heterogeneity in audit delay model, while the test of difference in R2 value for pre-and post-adoption periods was determined using Cramer’s Z-statistics. Findings indicate that audit report lag is faster with shareholders in the audit committee. The study proved that brand named auditors such as Big4 can significantly perform faster audit task than non-Big4 firms in IFRS regime. The importance of the study’s findings demonstrates statistical inference on value relevance incre...

Shareholder’s involvement in the audit committee, audit quality and financial reporting lag in Nigeria

Business and Economic Horizons

The study investigates shareholders impact as audit committee members and two attributes of audit... more The study investigates shareholders impact as audit committee members and two attributes of audit quality in relation to financial reporting lag (FRL). The data were collected from firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for 2011 to 2015 financial years. The study utilizes panel corrected standard errors (PCSEs) and quantiles regression. Findings indicate a negative and significant relationship between SFEX, SACR, BLKH, ROA, GWTH and (FRL). The study finds evidence that shareholders can enhance reporting timeliness while Big4 audit firms can perform faster audit work. The result also shows a glimpse of the level of non-compliance with regulation.

Value relevance of financial reporting: Evidence from Malaysia

Cogent Economics & Finance

The objective of this paper is to examine the value relevance of financial reporting from a devel... more The objective of this paper is to examine the value relevance of financial reporting from a developing country perspective after the adoption of the full set of IFRS. The study utilizes the Ohlson price model to determine the value relevance of financial reporting. The findings show that generally earnings, book value of equity and cash flow from operations are useful for investment decision making, whereas, there is an increasing significance of cash flow from operations in the Malaysian Capital Market. This finding is not consistent with the rationale given by conceptual framework for financial reporting regarding the dominance of earnings in investment decision making due to the perception of managerial bias in the reported earnings and book value of equity in the Malaysian Capital Market over the period 2012-2106. The findings have an important implication for regulators and local standards-setting body to curtail earnings management practices to improve the quality of earnings and book value of equity to increase the investor's confidence in general purpose financial reporting. The findings of the study contribute to the existing literature by performing a detailed empirical analysis of the value relevance of financial reporting in Malaysia, a developing country where the full set of IFRS has been implemented.

Audit Partner Quality and Audit Report Timeliness in Oman: A Conceptual Framework

International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting

In response to recent call on the need for audit scholars to utilize a richer set of audit firm c... more In response to recent call on the need for audit scholars to utilize a richer set of audit firm characteristics, auditor ofﬁce, and the individual partner characteristics to capture audit competency, this study aims to expand the scope of relevant research by conceptually examining the association between audit partner quality by three characteristics namely, education, experience and tenure, and audit report timeliness in the emerging market, based on previous literature. This study adds to the growing research by providing the conceptual model showing the importance of audit partner characteristics (e.g. education, experience and tenure) affecting the quality of audit outputs such as audit report timeliness, and agency theory is predicted to explain this effect on the audit report timeliness.

Audit Committee Characteristics and Audit Report Lag: Evidence From Oman

International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting

This study examines and provides empirical evidence on the association between audit committee ch... more This study examines and provides empirical evidence on the association between audit committee characteristics and audit report lag, by using data from 255 companies listed in the Muscat Securities market from 2013 to 2017. Multivariate analyses show that audit committee size positively associated with audit report lag and audit committee financial expertise reduces audit lag. However, this study does not find evidence that audit committee independence and meetings are associated with audit report lag. This study concludes that internal mechanisms of corporate governance in Oman are not effective compared to more developed nations and that policymakers in this emerging market should enforce and motivate practices of corporate governance in substance rather than simply adhering to practices in the form.

Investors’ response on the deviation between quarterly and annual earnings

SHS Web of Conferences, 2017

Despite the benefits of timely information, concerns have been raised on the reliability of the q... more Despite the benefits of timely information, concerns have been raised on the reliability of the quarterly accounts. The occurrence of deviation between audited annual accounts and cumulative quarterly accounts indicates the misstatements in the latter. This study examines investors' response towards the occurrence of the deviation. Data is based on 792 listed companies of Bursa Malaysia in 2012. The results of the OLS regression show that the companies without earnings deviation have significantly higher earnings response coefficient than companies experiencing earnings deviation. It is also found that understated quarterly earnings companies have higher earnings response coefficient than overstated companies. Results imply that investors place higher reliability on the quarterly accounts produced by companies without earnings deviation. Higher reliability is placed on the understated quarterly earnings companies as compared to overstated companies. Findings suggest that investors do value the occurrence and types of earnings deviation. Therefore, steps should be taken to overcome the occurrence of deviation.

The Impact of Interlocking Directorates on Corporate Performance of Bursa Malaysia Listed Companies

Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities

One of the main concerns about interlocking directorates is their effect on corporate performance... more One of the main concerns about interlocking directorates is their effect on corporate performance; however, there is little research undertaken on this issue. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the effect of interlocking directorates on corporate performance by considering the nature and the direction of interlocking. The analyses are based on the data of 741 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia in 2007. The Ordinary Least Square regression results show that the number of interlocking companies, inter-industry interlocking directorates and interlocking created by independent directors are all significant and positively related to corporate performance, which is consistent with the resource dependence theory and the corporate governance theory. However, it is also discovered that both multiple directorships by executive directors and non-executive non-independent directors do not have any effect on corporate performance, which is consistent with the class integration theory. Despite the negative perception on interlocking directorates by the public, the findings suggest that interlocking directorates actually benefit shareholders by enhancing the earnings performance of the corporation.

Audit Services Fee, Non-Audit Services and the Reliability of Earnings

International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 2013

External auditing is essential due to the belief that it can enhance users' reliability of the fi... more External auditing is essential due to the belief that it can enhance users' reliability of the financial reports. However, negative perception on auditor's independence decreases investors' reliability on the reports. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of audit and non-audit fees on earnings response coefficient. Negative perception on auditor's independence concerning the high amount of fees decreases the investors' reliability on audited earnings and thus, results in lower ERCs. Based on 270 listed companies on the Bursa Malaysia in 2011, the OLS regression result shows that investors place lower reliability on earnings audited by highly paid auditors. Investors view high fees as a form of compensation to the auditors. The finding is consistent with earlier perceived studies which had found negative perceptions on high fees.

Auditor Switching and Investors' Reliance on Earnings: Evidence From Bursa Malaysia

ABSTRACT