Exploring the nexus between Islamic financial institutions Shariah compliance disclosure and corporate governance: New insights from a cross-country analysis

We address the scarcity of empirical research on Shariah Compliance Disclosure (hereafter referred to as SCD) by presenting new evidence on the levels and range of SCD, of 807 bank-year observation of Islamic Financial Institutions (hereafter referred to as IFIs) in 19 countries for the period from 2010 to 2020 and its determinants. Using an unweighted disclosure index measured by manual content analysis categorized into Shariah Supervisory Board (hereafter referred to as SSB) information, audit process, Shariah compliance review and Zakat, several outcomes are documented. In general, the SCD level is above average (57.38%) and hence evidence an overall growth during the sample period. Further, the study examines the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and SCD and the results indicate that foreign investors, institutional investors, board size, board independence, SSB reputation and SSB size are vital and influence the extent of SCD level. The study also conducted several tests to examine the main findings' robustness. The findings deliver valuable in-depth empirical insights to regulatory bodies on the current SCD practises of IFIs to assist policymakers in modifying reporting frameworks or guidelines accordingly. In addition, this research can support academics, policymakers or standard setters and managers interested in seeking information about SCD and CG.