Asian Journal of Finance & Accounting ISSN 1946-052X 2013, Vol. 5, No. 2 www.macrothink.org/ajfa 84 Exploring Undergraduate Students’ Understanding of Shari’ah Based Audit: Implications for the Future of Shari’ah Auditing Labor Market in Brunei Hisham Yaacob (Corresponding author) Department of Accounting & Finance, Faculty of Business, Economics & Policy Studies University of Brunei Darussalam, Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei BE1410 E-mail: Hisham.yaacob@ubd.edu.bn Fathima Shafeek University of Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Hairul Suhaimi Nahar Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Received: July 22, 2013 Accepted: September 11, 2013 Published: December 1, 2013 doi:10.5296/ajfa.v5i2.4039 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ajfa.v5i2.4039 Abstract The worldwide Islamic finance industry had grown remarkably in the past decades, primarily propelled by the strong demand for shari’ah (Islamic Law) compliant banking products by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Behind the façade of such outstanding industry’s development, there remain unresolved critical governance issues warranting for immediate attention by industry stakeholders. Besides the presence of significant variations with regards to the scope and framework for shari’ah audit in the currently available shari’ah governance policy standards, another imperative issue surrounds the relatively small pool of knowledgeable and competent shari’ah auditors (vis-à-vis conventional auditors) to perform shari’ah auditing of Islamic financial transactions and hence, the institutions. Arguably, these pose a significant threat to the coordinated development of this religiously rooted industry. The study’s conjecture is that education holds the key to resolve the issue. Accordingly, it