JASF: Journal of Accounting and Strategic Finance

The Impact of Technological Investment and Sukuk Activities on Islamic Bank Performance: The Moderating Role of Sharia Governance

2026-05-03T08:32:57+00:00

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of technological investment components (ATM networks, software investment, and human resource expenses) and sukuk activities on the operational performance of Islamic banks in Indonesia. It addresses a gap in the literature by integrating these variables within a unified framework and by incorporating Sharia Governance as a moderating mechanism grounded in agency and stakeholder perspectives. The study also justifies the use of Return on Net Operating Assets (RNOA) as a profitability proxy that better captures operational efficiency in asset-based Islamic banking.

Method: This study employs a quantitative approach using unbalanced panel data from 14 Islamic commercial banks in Indonesia over the period 2014–2024. The analysis applies Random Effects panel regression and Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA), while controlling for bank size and Financing to Deposit Ratio (FDR).

Findings: The results show that ATM networks, human resource expenses, and sukuk activities positively and significantly affect RNOA, while software investment has no direct effect. Sharia Governance exhibits a differentiated moderating role: the Board of Directors strengthens the effect of ATM networks, the Audit Committee enhances the influence of human resource expenses, and the Sharia Supervisory Board reinforces the relationship between software investment and RNOA.

Implications: These findings suggest that Islamic banks should balance physical and digital investments, strengthen human capital, and optimize sukuk utilization, while enhancing governance effectiveness to improve operational performance.

Novelty/Value: This study contributes by integrating technological investment, sukuk activities, and multidimensional Sharia Governance within a single empirical framework, while introducing RNOA as a contextually relevant performance measure in Islamic banking.

Educational Background Reputation and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Evidence from the CEO Tenure Phenomenon in Indonesia

2026-05-03T08:40:52+00:00

Purpose: In Indonesia, the CEO's educational background is considered the appropriate indicator of how the policy is grounded in interests and reasoning. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the CEO's educational background and corporate social responsibility practice.

Method: We focus on testing the sample of the firm that was following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicator with 295 sample firm-year observations from Indonesia 2016–2019. The data collected from the CSRD from the sustainability report that the company discloses manually, hand-collected the educational background of the CEO, the financial report, and the annual report from the company accessed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the OSIRIS database.

Findings: This study found that a better educational background doesn't always result in better policy. In some cases, the CEO has a negative relationship with CSR. Specifically, the results of this study indicate that CEOs with a bachelor's degree (S1) on both reputation measures are not associated with CSRD.

Implications: This study provides an important implication that the reputation of a CEO’s educational background does not necessarily translate into more effective corporate policies. The findings highlight the need for boards to focus on substantive governance practices and decision-making capabilities, rather than symbolic credentials, when formulating strategic policies.

Novelty/Value: This study offers novelty by exploring the impact of CEO educational background and tenure on CSR disclosure, while highlighting that CEO educational reputation does not always enhance their commitment to CSR activities.

Corporate Governance and Board Gender Diversity as Moderators of Environmental Innovation on Financial Performance in Indonesia

2026-05-14T19:36:35+00:00

Purpose: Focusing on environmental strategic practices, this study examines whether Environmental Performance and carbon emission disclosure generate financial value and whether such value is contingent upon gender diversity and corporate governance mechanisms. This study emphasizes the strategic role of internal governance mechanisms in optimizing financial returns from environmental initiatives, especially in Indonesia, where regulatory and environmental pressures are intensifying.

Method: Using a quantitative approach, this study uses secondary data from annual and sustainability reports of firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for 2023–2024. Environmental innovation was measured using Environmental Disclosure Index based on environmental information disclosed. Carbon emission disclosure was assessed based on GRI 305 indicators, financial performance was proxied by Return on Assets (ROA), gender diversity was measured by the proportion of female directors/commissioners, and corporate governance was proxied by the proportion of independent commissioners. Using purposive sampling, the study obtained 354 firm-year observations from 177 firms. The hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).

Findings: Model estimation results show that both environmental innovation and carbon transparency are associated with improved profitability. Importantly, this relationship intensifies in the presence of heterogeneous board representation and effective governance controls, underscoring the conditional nature of sustainability-driven financial gains.

Implications: The findings provide practical implications for corporate managers in strengthening sustainability-oriented governance strategies, for investors in evaluating firms’ long-term sustainability performance, and for regulators and policymakers in encouraging stronger environmental disclosure and board diversity practices in emerging markets such as Indonesia.

Novelty/Value: Unlike prior studies in Indonesia that primarily examine the direct effect of environmental practices on financial performance, this study develops an integrated framework by investigating the simultaneous moderating roles of gender diversity and corporate governance in the relationship between environmental strategies and financial performance. The study extends the stakeholder and contingency perspectives in emerging markets.

The Impact of Corporate Governance on the Quality of Financial Reports Moderated by Profitability (Case Study of Indonesia and Türkiye)

2026-05-03T09:26:35+00:00

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of board independence, board competence, board diversity, and profitability on financial reporting quality (FRQ) in manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST). By comparing two developing countries with different institutional environments, this study seeks to identify contextual elements that determine the efficiency of corporate governance.

Method: This research employs a quantitative method, making use of secondary data from listed industrial companies' annual reports for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 (128 firm-year observations). Panel data regression analysis with a random effects model (REM) is used to evaluate FRQ, measured as discretionary accruals derived from the Jones model. The Seemingly Unrelated Estimation Test (SUEST) is used as a post-estimation tool to statistically compare regression coefficients across country samples.

Findings: In the Indonesian sample, board independence and board expertise do not significantly affect FRQ, while board diversity and profitability do. Profitability positively moderates each governance variable's correlation with FRQ in the Indonesian sample. In the Turkish sample, no governance or profitability variables yield significant results. The SUEST coefficient comparison test indicates that the differences in the effects of governance variables between the two countries are not statistically significant at conventional levels.

Implications: The findings indicate that the national institutional framework has a significant impact on how successful corporate governance mechanisms are. Market-based incentives appear to be more dominant in Indonesia, while regulatory compliance drives reporting quality in Turkey. These findings have significant ramifications for governance professionals and regulators in developing nations.

Novelty/Value: This study adds cross-national evidence to the field on comparative governance from two institutionally distinct emerging markets. It also integrates institutional theory and signalling theory to explain how national context shapes governance effectiveness. The SUEST post-estimation procedure is applied to formally test whether cross-country coefficient differences are statistically significant.

Tax Policy Restores the Economy After a Disaster: A Comparative Perspective of Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States

2026-06-04T06:01:44+00:00

Purpose: This study aims to compare the design, implementation mechanisms, and policy objectives of post-disaster tax incentives in Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States, while examining how differences in fiscal capacity, institutional arrangements, and tax administration systems influence their effectiveness in supporting economic recovery.

Method: This study employs a comparative qualitative approach based on a systematic literature review and document analysis. The literature selection process followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Data were collected from academic publications, government regulations, policy reports, and official documents published between 2010 and 2026. The selected studies were analysed using directed qualitative content analysis across five comparative dimensions: types of tax incentives, administrative tax relief, target beneficiaries, institutional arrangements, and contributions to economic recovery.

Findings: The findings indicate that Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States all utilize tax policy as a fiscal instrument to support post-disaster economic recovery through tax relief, filing and payment extensions, and administrative assistance. However, significant differences exist in policy design and implementation. Indonesia adopts a centralized approach, the Philippines combines central and local government coordination, while the United States operates through a comprehensive federal framework with broader tax benefits and stronger institutional capacity. The effectiveness of post-disaster tax incentives is influenced not only by fiscal resources but also by administrative efficiency, legal frameworks, and institutional coordination.

Implications: The findings suggest that governments should strengthen interagency coordination, improve tax administration systems, and integrate tax incentives into broader disaster risk financing and recovery strategies to enhance policy effectiveness.

Novelty/Value: This study contributes to the growing literature on disaster-responsive fiscal policy by providing a comparative analysis of post-disaster tax incentives in both developing and developed countries. The study offers a more comprehensive understanding of how fiscal capacity, institutional governance, and tax administration systems influence the effectiveness of tax incentives, while also providing policy lessons for the design of more responsive, equitable, and resilient tax policies in the face of natural disasters.

Comparative Analysis of Financial Distress Prediction Models in U.S. Oilfield Services Firms: Evidence from 2010-2023

2026-06-07T21:21:39+00:00

Purpose: This study examines financial distress in U.S. oilfield services firms by comparing classification outcomes across four prediction models and investigating how industry characteristics influence financial distress detection within a cyclical and capital-intensive environment.

Method: Using panel data from ten publicly listed firms over the period 2010–2023 (140 firm-year observations), this study applies the Altman Z″, Zmijewski, Grover, and Springate models. Differences among models are evaluated using non-parametric tests, including the Friedman test, Kendall’s W, Cochran’s Q, and McNemar test. Binary logistic regression is subsequently employed to examine the effects of oil price, leverage, profitability (ROA), firm size, and oil price volatility on financial distress.

Findings: The results reveal significant differences in financial distress classifications across models, indicating strong model dependency. The Springate model appears more responsive to early-stage financial deterioration than the Altman Z″, Zmijewski, and Grover models. Profitability (ROA) is the only variable that significantly affects financial distress, while oil price, leverage, firm size, and oil price volatility do not exhibit significant direct effects. The findings further suggest that external shocks influence financial distress indirectly through firm-level financial performance.

Implications: The findings highlight the importance of profitability and operational performance in maintaining financial resilience within cyclical industries. Managers, investors, and creditors should therefore place greater emphasis on profitability as an indicator of financial vulnerability than on external market conditions alone.

Novelty/Value: This study contributes by explaining how the structural characteristics of a cyclical and capital-intensive industry shape the sensitivity of financial distress prediction models. The findings suggest that profitability-oriented models identify financial deterioration earlier than leverage-oriented models because industry downturns initially affect asset utilization, revenue generation, and profitability before materially affecting leverage and solvency indicators.