The compliance of disclosure with AAOIFI financial accounting standards

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the compliance of disclosure with the financial accounting standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions’ (AAOIFI) related to Islamic financing products by Islamic banks in Bahrain and Qatar. Design/methodology/approach - The study measures compliance using disclosure indexes. The disclosure indexes include the three financial accounting standards ofMurabaha,MudarabaandMusharaka. The data are collected from the annual reports of 24 Islamic banks in Bahrain and Qatar over a period of 2012-2015. Findings - The paper found that Islamic banks in Bahrain and Qatar comply with AAOIFI financial accounting standards related toMurabaha,MudarabaandMusharaka. However, there was a level of non-compliance in both countries. In addition, it found that the extent of compliance had increased over the 2012-2015 period. Also, theMurabahastandard had the highest mean of compliance. Moreover, the results showed that the Islamic banks in Qatar tend to have more compliance of overallMurabahaandMudarabadisclosures compared to the Islamic banks in Bahrain. Research limitations/implications - The findings are preliminary and highlight that the issue is of high interest to Islamic banks and AAOIFI. Hence, it requires a detailed follow-up to form a complete picture that would assist AAOIFI and regulators gear their policies toward better quality disclosure by Islamic financial institutions. Even though the findings are encouraging, future research is recommended to enforce compliance with the AAOIFI financial accounting standards. Originality/value - This is a pioneer empirical study that focuses on the level and trend of compliance with AAOIFI financial accounting standards related to the Islamic financing products ofMurabaha,MudarabaandMusharakastandards, especially in Qatar. Additionally, it is the first study comparing between the only two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, i.e. Bahrain and Qatar, that mandatory apply the AAOIFI standards.