Mosques Fund Management: A Study on Governance and Internal Controls Practices

摘要

Governance and controls over the funds of the religious Non-profit organizations (NPOs) were important due to the fact that these organizations managed public funds. Besides, holding the name of religious organizations, integrity, credibility and honesty in managing funds were expected by the public. This study investigated the governance and internal controls practices which focused on the receipt of income and disbursement of funds by Jameq Mosques in the central region of Malaysia. In a state which was divided into several areas, Jameq Mosque was referred to the main mosque in an area which received funding from government, corporate and public donations and monitored by Islamic bodies of each state. Jameq Mosques in the Central region of Malaysia were chosen as the population of interest due to the fact that this region was the most developed area which received lots of funding. Unstructured interviews and review of documents were conducted to investigate the current practices of governance and internal controls on receipt of income and on disbursing funds. Findings suggested that there were no standard guidelines or policies on governance to be followed by the mosques. Regarding internal controls practices, both receipt of income and funds disbursement requires significant attention regarding the segregation of duties element. Other elements of internal controls such as physical custody, recording of transactions, and authorization were at the accepted level.