GJAT | JUNE 2017 | VOL 7 ISSUE 1 | 59 ISSN : 2232-0474 | E-ISSN : 2232-0482 www.gjat.my This journal is a member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Investigating Awqaf Management, Accounting and Investment Practices in Malaysia: The Case of a State Religious Institution Hisham Yaacob (Corresponding author) Department of Accounting, College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Tel: +971–3–7673333 E-mail: annasham@yahoo.com Hairul Suhaimi Nahar Department of Accounting and Finance, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: +603–89467629 E-mail: hairulsuhaimi@upm.edu.my AND Department of Accounting, College of Economics and Political Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Al Khoud, Muscat, 123, Sultanate of Oman Abstract Social economy is gaining interest as an alternative to capitalist economy. As compared to its capitalist counterpart, social based economy is ethically and morally guided. This arguably possesses close alignment to the religious based economy among Muslims – The Islamic Economics. Waqf, which is equivalent to endowment in the non-Islamic context, is an important institution in the Islamic socio- economic system. Widely practiced among Muslims since the Prophet Muhammad’s era, waqf has enhanced Muslims’ socio-economic strength particularly during the Ottoman era. This research revisits such religiously founded practice by examining the contemporary waqf accounting, reporting and investment practices of a selected waqf manager in Malaysia – The State Religious Institution (SRI). Adopting a qualitative approach to research inquiry using a single case study method, data were collected through interviews and documents’ review. The research fnds observable weaknesses in the accounting, reporting and investment for waqf activities particularly on waqf assets. The available records suggest large improvement void in the focused areas, albeit it does not tantamount to detrimental effects on SIRC’s efforts in adequately safeguarding the waqf assets. The research provides fresh evidence of the contemporary accounting, reporting and investment practices of a religious institution entrusted to manage waqf funds operating in an emerging market. Keywords: Waqf; Usufructs; Accounting; Reporting; Investments; Accountability Introduction The emergence of social economy as an alternative to capitalistic economy has attracted the academic interests of many contemporary scholars. Its social constructs are argued to have imbued and embedded with ethical and moral elements (Naqvi, 1981) and its objectives are closely aligned to Islamic economics. Economically, Islam demands that wealth is to be shared and circulated through various mechanisms based on justice and equity as outlined in the Qur’an and Ahadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) (Chapra, 1992). The mechanisms include waqf (Islamic endowments) and charities which are important elements in the social economy as they provide public goods such as education and healthcare (Khan, 1994), provision of religious premises and utilities, jobs opportunities and public library without any cost to the government (Yedyyildiz, 1996). Historical records in the Muslim world indicate that waqf is a self-sustainable socio-economic