The Disclosure of Zakat by Islamic Banks (IBs) and Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) in Malaysia

Abstract

As an Islamic finance institution,atransparent disclosure of zakat payment to stakeholders is one of the ways in which the organization demonstrates Islamic ethical value and accountability through business transaction. The effective, translucent, and timely reporting to the stakeholders (i.e., the public, regulators, investors, and others) is critical to the economic decision-making process as well as equitable distribution of resources to the society. Despite the various variations in zakat disclosure, less attention is given to the disclosure practices on zakat information by Islamic banks (IBs) and Development Financial Institutions (DFIs). Therefore, this study aims to examine firstly, the zakat disclosure requirements by regulations and then the zakat disclosure for all IBs and DFIs inMalaysia. This study adopted content analysis on the financial statement, annual report, annual integrated report, and annual sustainability report for the 2019 financial year. The whole population of 16 IBs and six DFIs were selected. This study found inconsistency in zakat disclosure of the different banks and other zakat-related practical issues in the descriptive analysis. The inconsistency varies from the method, rates, policy, and terminology used. Additionally, further embellishment on the non-financial information of zakat is also vital to demonstrate accountability to the general public.