Towards A Unified Zakat System

five out of seven items, suggesting that different groupsgive different importance to the question's items. Forexample, academics put social justice at the top while theother three groups classify it as second. Religious duty isclassified second by academics while it is classified asfirst by the other three groups. Economic efficiency isclassified fourth by accounting firms and academics whilethe other two groups classify it third. Finally, promotingcharitable organisations is classified fourth by governmentofficials while the other three groups classify it third.Accounting firm employees do not seem to agree with theproposition that Zakat increases local investment, or thatit would improve the quality of corporate financial reports.The other three groups, however, show some agreement withthe proposition. Indeed, the announcement and implementationof Zakat in the annual report may give investors additionalinformation which could assist them in making investmentdecisions.Improving the reputation of companies, increasing localinvestment, and improving the quality of corporate financialreports were seen as the least beneficial items by investorsand government officials. There are, however, alsodifferences, even within these two groups. For example,investors perceive increasing local investment as the leastimportant with a score of 4.02, while for government250