Contemporary Accounting Research

2009 EDITOR’S REPORT

2009 was again an eventful year for Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR). The number of regular and CAR conference submissions continued its upward trend. However, despite this increasing manuscript inflow, the journal was produced in a timely manner.  In addition, our annual conference, held in Montréal, Québec in November 2009, was a sold-out event.  The conference was preceded by a one-day Ph.D. Consortium for Canadian doctoral students. Finally, in January 2009, CAR held its first international conference in Hong Kong, thus signalling our intention to enhance our global presence.   

Manuscript submissions continued to be strong in quality, and 62 conference papers were submitted.  The editorial team in 2009 consisted of me as Editor-in-Chief, Lesley Falkner as Director, Nicole Nurse as Editorial Assistant and our Associate Editors and Editorial Board members all continued their service with the journal.  We are deeply indebted to all these individuals, but particularly our Associate Editors who perform significant work without compensation, for their contributions to the success of the journal.  

PRODUCTION AND SUBSCRIPTIONS 

The four 2009 issues in Volume 29 of the CAR journal consist of 1233 total pages (compared to 1209 pages in 2008, 1328 pages in 2007, 1144 pages in 2006, 1130 pages in 2005, 976 pages in 2004 and 840 in 2003).  A breakdown of these issues is as follows:   

Regular papers	27
Conference papers	7
Discussants’ comments (on conference papers)	7
Total	41

 

Of the 41 papers and comments, 6 (14.6%) were authored or co-authored by faculty at Canadian universities while 10 (23.4%) were authored or co-authored by a faculty at a non-North American university.  While stable over the past few years, the proportion of papers with a non-North American author exhibited a sizable increase in 2009 (from 15% to 23.4%), confirming the development of CAR’s international presence. The proportion of papers with a Canadian author or co-author is now back to the level seen prior to 2008.

Published Papers: Country of Origin of Authors or Co-authors 2009-2004

	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005
Papers with a Canadian author or coauthor	6 (14.6%)	3 (7.5%)	8 (18%)	6 (15%)	6 (17%)
Papers with a non-North American author or coauthor	10 (23.4%)	6 (15%)	6 (14%)	6 (15%)	5 (14%)

The journal was being sent to 1162 CAAA members and subscribers as of December 31, 2009 (1150 in 2008, 1276 in 2007, 1210 in 2006, 1269 in 2005, and 1290 in 2004).        

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS AND TURNAROUND 

The total number of new papers submitted to CAR in 2009 is 293, a decrease of only 9% over 2008 (322 submissions). However, the 2008 figure is inflated by 69 submissions for the special joint CAR/JCAE Hong Kong symposium. This is the second largest number of total submissions ever received by CAR.  As seen below, the number of regular submissions increased by 19% in 2009 to reach 231, the highest level ever for our Journal.  Conference submissions increased by 5% in 2009, to a total of 62.  

Of the 2009 new submissions, 33 or 11% involved at least one author at a Canadian university, a figure that is within the range of the past five years.  An additional 92 or 31% involved at least one non-North American author, a percentage consistent with prior years. Details of submissions for the last five years are shown below:   

Submissions 2008-2004 and Authors’ Country of Origin  

	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004
Regular	231	194	180	125	113	91
With Canadian author	9%	14%	11%	7%	12%	16%
With non-North American author	35%	30%	41%	27%	33%	21%
Conference	62	59	78	54	67	65
With Canadian author	21%	20%	14%	11%	18%	14%
With non-North American author	18%	17%	28%	22%	30%	15%
Symposium		69
With Canadian author		7%
With Asian author		48%
TOTAL	293	322	258	179	180	156
With Canadian author	11%	14%	12%	8%	14%	15%
With non-North American author	31%	35%	37%	29%	32%	19%

 

The above statistics show that, while CAR is maintaining its international recognition and reputation, the Canadian submission rate approximates historic levels.  In addition to the journal itself, the CAR Conference and Ph.D. Consortium, discussed in the next section, are important means towards achieving the goal of Canadian relevance.   

Of the 293 submissions for 2009, the editor and associate editors rejected or withdrew 65% on the first round. The rate is consistent with prior years’ trends (see table below).  Of the papers submitted from 2004-2009, the ultimate average acceptance rate is around 11%.  

 

First Rejection and Withdrawal Statistics for Submissions 2009-2004   

	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005
First round rejections and withdrawals	65 %	71 %	64 %	64 %	64 %

 

The editorial team at CAR makes every effort to minimize manuscript turnaround times.  To reduce lead times, we are more closely monitoring turnaround times and reminding late reviewers on a more pro-active basis.  In addition, the Editor and the Associate Editors are doing a more thorough screening of incoming manuscripts to ensure that their content fits with CAR’s editorial policy.  Details of our turnaround times for the last 6 years are shown below:     

2009-2004 Turnaround in Median Days   

Submissions	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005
New Regular	85 days	97 days	123 days	89 days	85 days
Conference	72 days	88 days	112 days	77 days	80 days
MS over 100 days	75	48	104	69	55
Total Manuscripts	293	322	258	179	180
% over 100 days	26%	15%	40%	39%	31%

 

The tables below present a summary of the types of papers submitted by area and research paradigm.  The “experimental” classification includes research employing behavioural experiments, experimental economics, or surveys.  The empirical category consists of empirical studies analysing data obtained from public sources, while the other category consists of case or field studies.  The tables also show the percentage distribution of papers for 2009 compared with 2008 and 2007.   

 

Regular Submissions: Area and Research Paradigm  

	Auditing	Managerial	Financial	Taxation	2009  Total	2009% Total	2008% Total	2007 %    Total
Analytical	1	9	2	1	13	6%	11%	7.2%
Experimental	15	9	7	1	32	14%	18%	17.2%
Empirical	35	18	112	5	170	74%	67%	67.2%
Other	6	5	4	0	15	6%	4%	8.3%
Total					230 (+1 removed) = 231	100%	100%	100%
2009% of Total	25%	18%	54%	3%	100%
2008% of Total	27%	11%	58%	4%
2007 % of Total	31.1%	14.4%	52.2%	2.7%

 

Conference Submissions: Area and Research Paradigm    

	Auditing	Managerial	Financial	Taxation	2009 Total	2009% Total	2008%  Total	2007%   Total
Analytical	0	1	3	1	5	8%	3.4%	10%
Experimental	3	6	1	1	11	18%	15.2%	8%
Empirical	8	3	31	2	44	71%	71.2%	73%
Other	0	1	1	0	2	3%	10.2%	9%
Total					62		100%	100%
2009% of Total	18%	18%	58%	6%		100%
2008% of Total	22%	22%	53%	3%
2007% of Total	36%	10%	49%	5%

 

The aim to get greater diversity was clearly communicated in the 2006-2009 CAR Conference calls for papers.  After growing substantially, the number of Audit-empirical submissions seems to be levelling off and even slightly declining.  The number of analytical submissions has been trending up over the past few years.  However, the bulk of submissions are still in the financial-empirical category, which is to be expected since the vast majority of new Ph.Ds in North America are trained in this area.  

CAR CONFERENCE 

The 24^rd CAR Conference was held at the Hôtel Nelligan in Old Montréal on November 6 and 7, 2009.  The conference was under the sponsorship of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.  Six papers were presented at the Conference, each followed by a discussant’s commentary and questions from the audience.  This year, in addition to paper presentations and related discussions,we featured a special guest speaker, Christian Leuz from the University of Chicago.  Professor Leuz, whose research examines the role of corporate disclosures and accounting transparency, spoke about international accounting and global convergence.  

Ten of our Associate Editors attended the conference and 4, along with me, served as program moderators.  Of the 24 presenters and discussants, 7 were from Canadian universities; and 2 were from a non-North American university.  More important perhaps, of the 135 faculty and doctoral students attending the conference, 54 were from Canadian universities, 25 of which were from universities in Quebec, 15  were from non-North American universities.  

We encourage a high level of Canadian participation through our policy of inviting all Ph.D. accounting faculty members and accounting doctoral students at Canadian universities to attend the conference on a first-come, first served basis.  This is consistent with our goal of making the CAR Conference a world class research forum accessible to Canadian researchers.  

PH.D. CONSORTIUM  

For the ninth time, the 2009 CAR Conference was preceded by a full day doctoral consortium.  This year, the consortium was sponsored by the Canadian CA profession, more specifically The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, The Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec, and The Atlantic School of Chartered Accountancy.  

At this forum, several speakers involved in the Conference presented overviews of various research areas.  The speakers and topics were:  

Christian Leuz (University of Chicago)           International Accounting Research: What have we learned and where do we go next?

Peter Pope (Lancaster University)            Accounting and Risk

T.J. Wong (Chinese University of Hong Kong)              Institutions and Information Environment of Chinese Listed

Katherine Schipper (Duke University)             The Role of Implementation Decisions in Achieving Comparable Financial Reporting

Our objective was to build on the above diversity theme while at the same time providing participants with useful background information and facilitate their participation in the conference itself.  25 Canadian doctoral students or faculty members attended the Consortium, of whom 7 were Francophones. The CAAA provided financial support to help defray the costs of attendance for 10 of the Canadian students.    

CRAFT OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH WORKSHOP   

As an aid to Ph.D. students and new faculty in getting their research published in good journals, Patricia O’Brien and myself led a one day workshop, titled “The Craft of Accounting Research:  Planning, Performing, and Publishing Research in Accounting” on June 4, 2009 in Montréal, Québec.  This interactive workshop was intended for doctoral students and junior faculty interested in developing and presenting research ideas, and publishing articles in top-tier academic accounting journals.  The workshop concentrated on examining issues and problems involved in planning and performing research, preparing manuscripts for submission to a journal, and responding to reviewer comments.

In addition to the 2 members of CAR’s editorial team, 1 member of our editorial team and 1 member of our editorial board were actively involved in discussing and providing feedback to participants: Theresa Libby and Raffi Indjejikian. 4 new faculty members attended along with 15 Ph.D. students (of which 6 were Francophone). 10 Ph.D. students received subsidies from the CAAA (up to $500 each) for travel and housing.  By all accounts, the workshop was very successful again this year. A similar workshop will be held in conjunction with the 2010 CAAA Annual Meeting.  

HONG KONG SPECIAL SYMPOSIUM

On January 3 and 4, CAR held a special joint symposium at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The symposium focused on Asia-related issues. The symposium was extremely well attended and enhanced our visibility in Asia with scholars from China, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong Australia, the United States, Canada as well as other countries participating in the event. Four papers were presented and discussed. CGA Canada was one of the sponsors of the event.

CONCLUSION   

Overall, 2009 was a very successful year for Contemporary Accounting Research. On a personal level, it is my last full year as CAR Editor as my term expires on April 30, 2010. At this juncture, I want to thank all of the persons who made this success possible, and especially the following individuals: Lesley Falkner, CAR’s Director; Nicole Nurse, CAR’s Editorial Assistant; the Associate Editors, who have worked very hard:  Jeffrey L. Callen, Peter M. Clarkson, Ferdinand Gul, Raffi Indjejikian, Kenneth Klassen, Patricia O’Brien, Peter Pope, Shivaram Rajgopal, Hun-Tong Tan, Alan Webb, Michael Welker and Michael Willenborg. I also thank those who generously served as Ad Hoc Associate Editors in 2009 as well as the reviewers and Editorial Board members. In addition, I want to thank the guest editors who handled the submissions to the Hong Kong Symposium: Gordon Richardson (Chief Guest Editor), Peter Clarkson, Dan Simunic and Ferdinand Gul. Finally, I thank the CAAA’s board of directors, especially its president, Gary Entwistle and past president, Louise Côté, for their ongoing support.   

Michel Magnan
Editor, Contemporary Accounting Research