Performance Measurement and Accountability of WAQF Institutions in Malaysia

Abstract

It has been seen for the past few years that the revival of waqf institutions has been an upsurge interest of Muslim communities around the world. In line with the revitalization, the issues of measuring and managing waqf performance are growingly being discussed and concerned by the academicians and constituents. Waqf institutions need to demonstrate their performance as whether they have effectively and efficiently managed in order to discharge their accountability to various waqf stakeholders. There are many studies conducted to measure the performance of various organizations in the private, public and third sector. However, studies on the performance measurement of waqf institution are still limited, and financial ratios become the dominant measurement in those studies. Being a non-profit in nature and religious entity, managing the entrusted waqf assets for social and economic development of the society, the performance measurement of waqf institutions should also focus on realizing their missions. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to discuss both financial and non-financial measurement that can be adapted by waqf institutions to assess their performance in discharging their accountability. Drawing from the experience on performance measurement discussed in the non-profit organizations literatures, this conceptual paper is hoped to provide significant insight on how waqf institutions performance may be measured and provide a tool to benchmark the best practices that can guide them to achieve their goals and missions.