The Sharīʿah requirements regarding the transferability of intangible assets include a clear transfer of title and the need for the asset to adhere to Sharīʿah-compliance requirements, which include avoidance of gharar (uncertainty), maysir (gambling) and concealing knowledge. The avoidance of ghararis twofold: parties must know exactly what the product is as well as its precise value. However, Khattak et al. (2015) found that there is a lack of clarity with regards to rights and remedies associated with intangibles in some Islamic jurisdictions. Bouheraoua et al. (2013) have also found important Sharīʿah issues related to intangible assets such as gharar fā
hish (excessive uncertainty) in the identification and determination of the intangible assets due to their non-physical attributes and the probabilistic nature of their future benefits. They have identified two Sharīʿah views on this issue. One view does not recognize probable future economic benefits until they actually exist, to ensure the protection of property and avoid disputes among the contracting parties. The other view recognizes probable future economic benefits when the probability of their existence is preponderant. The involvement of intangible assets in the structuring of Islamic financial products has raised emerging pertinent reporting issues of substance and form of the financial transactions. The financial reporting issues present in the accounting of intangible assets require specific accounting policies and treatment that consider Sharīʿah requirements on permissible, measurable, separable and tradable dimensions. This study intends to explore the reporting dimensions of intangible assets in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the relevant Sharīʿah requirements.

Objectives of the study To confirm and seek the consensus of expert opinions for the purpose of facilitating the formulation of appropriate policy and effective strategy for reporting intangible assets in the Islamic financial services industry, the principal objectives of the study are designed as follows: to highlight issues on specific financial reporting requirements on intangible assets as specified in IAS 38 Intangible Assets and relevant standards (IASB, 2016) with reference to Islamic financial transactions; and to elicit professional accounting and Sharīʿah expert opinion and views on the risk exposures of adopting financial reporting requirements of financial assets as economic consequences of Islamic financial transactions.

Research methodology This study adopts a multi-method approach of content analysis of IAS 38 as well as interviews and focus group meetings with professional accountants, accounting academics and Sharīʿah scholars/advisors. Figure 1 highlights the multi-method approach. A critical review of IAS 38 was done to highlight the pertinent dimensions of intangible assets as specified by the standard. This is followed by an in-depth interview of an audit partner familiar with Islamic banking and finance as well as two separate focus group discussions with professional accountants and accounting academics followed by regulators and Sharīʿah academics/scholars/advisors with significant engagement in the Islamic financial services industry in Islamic banking, takāful and Islamic capital markets. Similar interview/focus group questions were disseminated.