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CAR EDITORIAL POLICIES

AIMS & SCOPE


Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR) publishes leading-edge research that contributes to our collective understanding of accounting’s role in organizations, markets or society. Canadian-based and global in scope, CAR seeks to reflect the worldwide intellectual diversity in accounting research.  Therefore, CAR welcomes interesting and intellectually rigorous work in all topic areas of accounting, using any appropriate method, and based in any discipline or research tradition that can contribute to accounting knowledge.

EDITORIAL & PEER-REVIEW PROCESS


The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) has ultimate responsibility for ensuring the quality of the journal. The EIC assesses each submitted manuscript to determine whether its topic falls within CAR’s Aims and Scope, and whether the likelihood of success is sufficiently high to merit review. If not, the paper is returned to the authors without review. If the paper merits review, the EIC assigns it to an Editor with relevant expertise. From time to time, we may draw on Consulting Editors or members of the Editorial Board to serve as ad hoc Editors.

CAR strives to offer authors a fair, constructive, expert, and timely review process. The Editor assigned to a specific manuscript is responsible for the entire editorial and peer review process, subject to oversight by the EIC. The Editor normally assigns two reviewers, who provide review reports and recommendations. CAR discourages reviewers from attempting to identify authors, and requires them to report any known conflicts of interest. The Editor decides on the paper’s disposition, using the review reports as input, and communicates with the authors. The EIC reviews all decisions to accept papers for publication.

Authors are jointly responsible for adhering to the highest standards of academic integrity in the conduct, writing and presentation of their research.  Authors must submit a declaration of academic integrity, agreed by all authors, with any new submission.

Beginning January 1, 2024, authors must make a declaration on the use of generative AI during the manuscript submission process, in accordance with the CAAA Journals’ Statement on the Use of Generative AI

REVIEWER FEE WAIVERS


For several years, Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR) has issued submission fee waivers in recognition of timely completion of two reviews.

Previously, these waivers have not had an expiry date.

Effective April 19th, 2017, CAR’s process for fee waivers changed. Please see below for details.


NEW PROCESS

All reviews completed within 30 days of the original reviewer invitation will be considered prompt. Upon completion of two prompt reviews, a reviewer is eligible for a waived submission fee on a new submission to CAR. Each review is eligible to be applied towards a waived submission fee for five years from the date of review completion.

A summary of eligible prompt reviews will be sent to reviewers annually, to the e-mail address in CAR’s Editorial Manager system. That summary can be uploaded to CAR in place of a submission fee receipt. Between reports, if you have questions about your eligibility, please contact car@caaa.ca.

Waivers are non-transferable, not valid for previous submissions, and not eligible for refund in the instance a manuscript is desk-rejected. If you pay a submission fee and subsequently wish to claim a waiver instead, you must email car@caaa.ca within 48 hours of payment.


EXCEPTIONS

Reviews completed for the annual CAR conference are considered prompt if they are completed on or before the conference review deadline. In addition, an exception will be granted for reviews completed within 45 days of the original reviewer invitation for invitations issued between March 26, 2020 and December 31, 2020.


PAST PROMPT REVIEWS AND EXISTING WAIVERS

Reviews completed on or before 31-Dec-2014 will expire on 31-Dec-2019. As noted above, all later prompt reviews will be considered eligible for five years from the date the prompt review was completed.


FEE WAIVERS FOR WITHDRAWN MANUSCRIPTS

All waivers issued for manuscripts that have been withdrawn will expire on the earlier of; the date specified in the editor’s decision letter, or 31-Dec-2019.


TERMS & CONDITIONS (UPDATED JANUARY 2024)

Reviewer fee waivers must be redeemed within 5 years from the date the first prompt review was completed, failing which the waiver shall be forfeited. Waivers have no monetary value and are not transferrable. CAR reserves the right to change the terms of its reviewer fee waivers program at any time. We will notify you of any changes by posting an updated version of this editorial policy, which changes shall take effect 30 days after the changes are posted. CAR also reserves the right to discontinue the reviewer fee waivers program at any time, including the right to cancel any eligibility for fee waivers that have not been redeemed at the time of discontinuation, with or without notice and without any liability. This Agreement will be governed by and construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Ontario and the applicable federal laws of Canada without giving effect to its conflict of law principles.

APPEALS


All appeals go through the EIC. An appeal requires a new submission fee, which is not refundable. No appeal may be made until at least one month has passed since the decision, and any appeal must be made within six months of the decision. The author(s) should provide a letter explaining the basis for the appeal, generally an error and not a difference of opinion. All appeals must be initiated and approved by all authors of the original manuscript. The EIC will assign a judge to the appeal, normally a Consulting Editor. The judge will have access to all submissions, reviews and correspondence related to the manuscript, and may communicate with any of the parties involved (authors, reviewers and Editor). The judge will decide whether to re-start the review process, and if so, whether to do so with the same Editor. The judge’s decision is final.

USE OF GENERATIVE AI


This statement relates to AI that may be used to generate the content (text, tables, figures) of a research paper.

The CAAA follows the guidance of the Committee On Publication Ethics (COPE) on issues relating to publication integrity and ethical conduct, including the evolving topic of generative AI tools. COPE position statement on the use of generative AI tools

The journals of the CAAA are published by Wiley. Publisher’s guidance on the use of generative AI tools

Per these guidelines and rationale, a generative AI tool cannot fulfil the role of, nor be listed as, an author of an article. If such a tool has been used to generate any portion of a manuscript, authors must declare this during the submission process of a new manuscript, and its use must be described, transparently and in detail, in the Methods section. The Editors will review and approve its use on a case-by-case basis.

The use of AI (or AI assistance) tools in research design or methods must be disclosed, per the Author Declaration Form and Data Integrity Information form.

Tools used for data analysis, data management, spelling and grammar checking, and referencing may be used without disclosure.

We encourage all authors to stay informed about generative AI and academic publishing by following COPE’s forums, discussion papers, and other resources.

As the field of AI and generative AI is rapidly changing, the CAAA Journal Editors in Chief will review and adapt this policy as needed.

Reviewed and approved, September 2023

Download a pdf version of this statement

JOINT STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES OF THE COALITION FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING (C4DISC)


The CAAA is pleased to announce our adoption of the Joint Statement of Principles of the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Publishing (C4DISC).

As an Association, we acknowledge our responsibility to examine our organizational and individual biases so we can develop and change; to actively promote inclusivity and accessibility; and to establish policy on equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging that underscores all the structures and services of the CAAA. We commit to devoting time and resources to these efforts.

While we work towards this overall objective of institutional change, we can also take smaller practical steps – formal and informal – to promote and examine equity and inclusion at the CAAA. Adopting the Joint Statement is one such step on our journey; by doing so, we join a wider academic community that shares practices and resources and works together towards improvement and change.

The C4DISC Joint Statement of Principles may be found here: https://c4disc.org/principles/

We invite you to find out more about C4DISC here: https://c4disc.org/main/mission-vision-and-values/

PRINT-ON-DEMAND


Beginning in 2024, the CAAA journals will be published in online-only format. This is a proactive move towards reducing the environmental impact caused by the production and distribution of printed copies and will allow the journal to invest in further innovation, digital development and sustainability measures.

It is still possible to obtain print copies of the journals through a print-on-demand service, and for the 2024 volume, Wiley is offering an 80% discount off the institutional online subscription price*.

Discount code: VAMEWFKQEM1R

Eligibility

The 2024 discount code is valid only for whole volume subscriptions (2024 volume) through 31 December 2024. The discount does not apply to single issues.

How to Order

  1. Go to the Sheridan POD webstore
  2. Use the search box to locate the journal and select the 2024 volume
  3. Canadian customers should select USA for shipping rate
  4. Apply the discount code provided above at check out to get the discounted rate

Download a pdf of step-by-step ordering instructions.

*The discount applies to full-volume orders and does not apply to single-issue purchases.