Genre analysis of risk management reports by an Islamic financial institution in Malaysia

Abstract

Risk management report (RMR) has become an important section for a bank's annual reports as it has been used to inform the stakeholders and the public of its stability. Nevertheless, most studies on risk management have yet to place much emphasis on language use nor move-step structure employed in the report since more attention is given to the risks faced by the institutions and how they are solved. This preliminary study aims to explore the move-step structure of risk management reporting in the RMR. To achieve this aim, genre analysis was utilised as a method to investigate how language was used in specific contexts to achieve their communicative purposes. Five RMR of an Islamic bank operating in Malaysia were obtained from its official website and analysed for their communicative content as demonstrated by the move-step constructs. The findings revealed that the RMR adhered to five moves. The findings provide an insight into how an Islamic financial institution’s reputation is constructed through the appropriations of the textual conventions in the reports. The present study will benefit researchers and readers of RMR.