Editorial Policy and Style Information

<b>Editorial Policy and Style Information</b>

JATA manuscript preparation guidelines follow closely those used in The Accounting Review, another American Accounting Association publication. These guidelines follow the general format of the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.; University of Chicago Press). Another helpful guide to usage and style is the Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White (Macmillan). Spelling follows Webster's International Dictionary.A paragraph indent, bold, lower case, fourth level heading. Text starts …An abstract of not more than 150 words should be on a separate page immediately preceding the text. The abstract should be nonmathematical and include a readable summary of the research question, methodology, and principal findings and contributions. The style should be objective, without personal pronouns. The title, but not the author's name or other identification designations should appear on the abstract page and on the first page of the text.The author should note the following general requirements:Mathematical notation should be employed only where its rigor and precision are necessary, and in such circumstances authors should explain in the narrative format the principal operations performed. Notation should be avoided in footnotes. Unusual symbols, particularly if handwritten, should be identified in the margin when they appear. Displayed material should clearly indicate the alignment, superscripts, and subscripts. Equations should be numbered in parentheses flush with the right-hand margin.Citations: Work cited should use the “author-date system” keyed to a list of works in the reference list (see below). Authors should include the relevant page numbers in the cited works.I.R.C. § 1248(a) Treas. Reg. § 1.1248–3(a)(4) Rev. Rul. 82-1, 1982-1 CB 417 Rev. Proc. 82-1, 1982-1 CB 751 LTR 8208047 (11/26/80)43 TC 1654 (1975) TC Memo 1943–496 (1943) 370 F. Supp. 69 (DC-Tx., 1974) 656 F. 2d 659 (CT. Cl., 1981) 411 F. 2d 1275 (CA-6, 1975) 388 U.S. 1492 (1980)Every manuscript must include a “References” section that contains only those works cited within the text. Each entry should contain all information necessary for unambiguous identification of the published work. Use the following formats (which follow The Chicago Manual of Style):Footnotes are not to be used for documentation. Textual footnotes should be used only for extensions and useful excursions of information that if included in the body of the text might disrupt its continuity. Footnotes should be inserted using the “footnote” or “endnote” feature of the word processing software, which will automatically number the footnotes throughout the manuscript with superscript Arabic numerals.The object of JATA is to promote the wide dissemination of the results of research and other scholarly inquiries into the field of taxation. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce any of the contents of this journal for use in courses of instruction, as long as the source and American Accounting Association copyright are indicated in any such reproductions. Written application must be made to the American Accounting Association for permission to reproduce any of the contents for use in other than courses of instruction, such as inclusion in books of readings or in other publications intended for general distribution. In consideration for the grant of permission in such instances, the applicant must notify the author(s) in writing of the intended use to be made of each reproduction. Except where otherwise noted on the first page of each article, the copyright interest has been transferred to the American Accounting Association. Where the copyright has not been transferred to the Association, applicants must seek permission to reproduce (for all purposes) directly from the author(s).The AAA Executive Committee's policy (originally adopted in 1989, and amended in 2009) is that the objective of the Association-wide journals (The Accounting Review, Accounting Horizons, Issues in Accounting Education) is to provide the widest possible dissemination of knowledge based on systematic scholarly inquiries into accounting as a field of professional research and educational activity. To fulfill this objective, authors are encouraged to make their data available for use by others in extending or replicating results reported in their articles.

Editorial Policy

EDITORIAL POLICY AND STYLE INFORMATION

Editorial Policy

This article presents the text of a report by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Accounting Association (AAA) on accreditation for accounting education in the U.S. as of October 2, 1977. The Committee on Accreditation was appointed to discuss and recommend a posture of the American Accounting Association in the matter of separate accreditation of accounting programs. That the AAA representatives on any standard-setting and accrediting body participate in the preparation of and review and comment on any set of standards proposed. Further, that such standards, if finalized be approved by the AAA Executive Committee prior to their promulgation. If such standards are not so approved, the participation of the AAA in the accrediting effort should be reconsidered by the Executive Committee. The committee are cognizant of the activities of the AJCPA Board on Standards for Programs and Schools of Professional accounting. They recommend as an interim measure that the Executive Committee appoint three members as a steering group to establish contact with the AICPA Board looking towards the establishment of a more broadly based group, including representation from such of the aforementioned accounting organizations as may wish to participate, prior to the adoption of standards and the establishment of a vehicle for their administration.

This article presents the text of a report by the American Accounting Association on its proposed activities in the U.S. for 1976 to 1986. The American Accounting Association is a scholarly organization devoted to the development of academic and professional accounting. It exists to serve the needs of its current and future members and to contribute to the overall well-being of society. Endeavoring to further these policies, certain proposals for Association activities are outlined in the next few paragraphs. There are many policy and procedural implications for the Association if it adopts the foregoing posture, but adopting the viewpoint that anything that concerns the subject matter of accounting should be of concern to the Association does not commit it to perform duplicative tasks or undertake projects for which it has no comparative advantages. For example, adopting a broad approach to the Association's activities would not commit it to attempt to duplicate the efforts of the American Institute of CPAs or other accounting related organizations.

Notes on Contributors

Teaching and training of students who are planning to enter the public accounting profession has been the target for many articles and has been the subject for much discussion by both accountants and educators. The American Accounting Association and the American Institute of Accountants have contributed greatly to the exchange of ideas on this topic through their conventions and in their publications. So great is the interest, in this still unsettled question, that large sums of money have been spent in developing aptitude and achievement tests for colleges and universities and for the promotion of research in the interest of improving the training of prospective public accountants. The achieving of this so-called balance in the accounting program is not an easy task but it is an interesting one. A carefully planned curriculum is only the beginning. Many educators are now advocating graduate training and five year courses for public accounting majors. Perhaps this is the answer to the problem of turning out finished accounting students. Perhaps they are expecting too much of the four year college graduates.

Book Reviews

Using a stakeholder-based process to develop and implement an innovative graduate-level course in management accounting

This essay is based on my American Accounting Association (AAA) Presidential Scholar Lecture delivered at the 2025 AAA Annual Meeting in Chicago. In this essay, I assert that theory-based scientific research is the best way to solve the practical—and existential—problems that threaten the accounting profession. I provide an example based on my own research into auditors’ judgments about complex estimates. I further argue that, although academic researchers and accounting practitioners share goals regarding the success and legitimacy of the accounting profession, their roles and responsibilities differ. I encourage accounting researchers to address the big problems facing the profession through independent development of generalizable knowledge, and I ask practitioners to support the research endeavor.

American Accounting Association and its predecessor organization, The American Association of University Instructors in Accounting, have had as a primary objective the encouragement and promotion of research in accounting. On December 28, 1935, the regular business meeting of the twentieth annual convention of the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting was adjourned and the assembled members immediately reconvened in a business meeting and the members were shifted from the old organization to the new. The only changes that had been effected were the change of name and the adoption of a new set of By-Laws. The chief activities of the new Association were listed in the By-Laws as "publications and research." The first of the stated objectives of the Association was phrased thus: "To encourage and sponsor research in accounting and to publish or aid in the publication of the results of research."The means by which the American Accounting Association expected to encourage intensive research on accounting subjects was never fully faced. The Executive Committee did suggest a substantial, but very general, list of topics on which it was felt study was needed. It is quite evident that the master's and doctoral programs in accounting were looked upon as a source of research talent and effort which was readily available in quantity.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise career guide for current and potential doctoral students in accounting and, in the process, help them gain a greater awareness of what it means to be an accounting professor. The guide can also be used by accounting faculty in doctoral programs as a starting point in mentoring their doctoral students. We begin with foundational guidance to help doctoral students better understand the “big picture” surrounding the academic accounting environment. We then provide specific research guidance and publishing guidance to help improve the probability of publication success. Actions are suggested that doctoral students and new faculty can take to help jump-start their academic careers. We finish with guidance regarding some important acronyms of special interest to doctoral students in accounting.

Editorial Policy