Shariah Audit Certification Contents: Views of Regulators, Shariah Committee, Shariah Reviewers and Undergraduate Students

Shariah Audit certification will show the stakeholders that Shariah auditors are skillful and competent in their field. Shariah audit practices should be identified at the professional and certified level. There should be a ‘Certified Shariah Auditor’ to ensure that the Shariah auditor is proficient to perform the task. This issue can be resolved through the certification program. Shariah audit is considered a new area in Islamic finance. It assures that institutions embracing Islamic finance are true to the Shariah principles by them having to undergo periodical audit on Shariah matters. There is a gap in the industry to the certification of Shariah audit as currently no certification is required for Shariah auditors, and there is no professional body offering Shariah audit certification. This research aims to identify the content/scope/ of Shariah audit certification. Data were collected through questionnaire survey method. The subjects for questionnaire distribution are the regulators, Shariah Committee members, Shariah Reviewers in the Islamic banks and undergraduate students. This study contributes on the contents for Shariah audit certification program. The results reveal that Shariah audit certification should at least cover the scope of Shariah audit outlined by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), financial statements and internal control systems of an Islamic bank. The contents of certification may also include the area of business policies, process and procedures, zakat calculation and payment, contracts and agreements, and assessment of financial resources. This study implicates that certification in this area will promote professionalism and improve the conduct of Shariah audit in the industry.