Current Issues in Auditing is published by the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association. To promote timely, widespread dissemination of ideas to the academic and practice communities, the journal is published online and is free to all interested parties.

Current Issues in Auditing is devoted to advancing the dialogue between academics and practitioners on current issues facing the auditing practice community (e.g., new opportunities and challenges, emerging areas, global developments, effects of new regulations or pronouncements, and effects of technological or market developments on audit processes). We define “auditing practice” broadly to include practice-related issues in external auditing, internal auditing, government auditing, IT auditing, assurance services, and related fields.

The journal seeks short, well-written papers from academics, practitioners, and regulators addressing timely issues facing the auditing practice community. Papers should be a maximum of 2,500 words of text and should not include complex statistics or models. Authors should strive to produce papers that are broadly understandable by the practice community and contain a substantive, relevant message for those interested in auditing practice. Submissions may include short, practice-oriented cases for classroom use. Practitioners are strongly encouraged to submit papers, as are author teams that include both academics and practitioners.

Submitted papers will be double-blind reviewed by two qualified reviewers under the direction of a co-editor. The journal's editorial board includes members from the academic, practice, and regulatory communities. The primary criteria for acceptance of a submitted paper by Current Issues in Auditing are (1) addressing an auditing practice issue that would be of interest to practitioners and academics, (2) a new and substantive message, and (3) effective, concise writing.

In addition to unsolicited papers that will be double-blind reviewed, the co-editors also may invite commissioned papers from thought leaders in the academic, practice, and regulatory communities. The co-editors or editorial board members will editorially review commissioned papers.

Authors should adhere to the following submission guidelines:

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    Papers under review or published by another journal may not be submitted to Current Issues in Auditing. Submitting authors must state in their letter to the co-editors that the paper has not been published or submitted elsewhere.

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    The submission and review process is handled electronically at http://ciia.allentrack.net. The co-editors, J. Gregory Jenkins and Dorsey Baskin, can be contacted at [email protected].

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    The nonrefundable submission fee in U.S. funds is $75 (for Main Articles, Instructional Resource Articles, and Commentaries), or $25 (for Practitioner Summaries of Published Research) payable by credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or American Express only) online at https://aaahq.org/AAAforms/journals/ciasubmit.cfm. If you are unable to pay by credit card or have any questions please contact the AAA Member Services Team at (941) 921-7747 or [email protected].

The Current Issues in Auditing manuscript preparation guidelines follow The Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition, 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 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

The American Accounting Association encourages use of gender-neutral language in its publications.

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    All manuscripts should be formatted using 12-point font. The text should be double-spaced, except for indented quotations.

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    Manuscripts should be as concise as the subject and research method permit. The co-editors ask authors to limit the text of the manuscript to 2,500 words (approximately 10 double-spaced pages).

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    Case submissions should have three sections: student handout materials, case implementation guidelines, and teaching notes. The teaching notes will be password-protected online.

  4. 4. 

    Margins should be at least 1″ from top, bottom, and sides.

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    To assure anonymous review, authors should not identify themselves directly or indirectly in their papers. Single authors should not use the editorial “we.”

  6. 6. 

    A synopsis of less than 100 words should be presented on a separate page immediately preceding the text. The synopsis should summarize the paper's main message. The title, but not the author's name or other identification designations, should appear on the synopsis page.

  7. 7. 

    All pages, including tables, appendices, and references, should be serially numbered. The cover and synopsis pages are not numbered.

  8. 8. 

    Spell out numbers from one to ten, except when used in tables and lists, and when used with mathematical, statistical, scientific or technical units and quantities, such as distances, weights and measures. For example: three days; 3 kilometers; 30 years. All other numbers are expressed numerically.

  9. 9. 

    In nontechnical text use the word percent; in tables and figures, the symbol % is used.

  10. 10. 

    Use a hyphen to join unit modifiers or to clarify usage. For example: a well-presented analysis; re-form. See Webster's for correct usage.

  11. 11. 

    Headings should be arranged so that major headings are centered, bold, and capitalized. Second-level headings should be flush left, bold, and both uppercase and lowercase. Third-level headings should be flush left, bold, italic, and both uppercase and lowercase. Fourth-level headings should be paragraph indent, bold, and lower case. Headings and subheadings should not be numbered. For example:

A Flush Left, Bold, Italic, Uppercase and Lowercase, Third-Level Heading

A paragraph indent, bold, lowercase, fourth-level heading. Text starts ...

The author should note the following general requirements:

  1. 1. 

    Each table and figure (graphic) should appear on a separate page and should be placed at the end of the text. Each should bear an Arabic number and a complete title indicating the exact contents of the table or figure.

  2. 2. 

    A reference to each table or figure should be made in the text.

  3. 3. 

    The author should indicate where each table or figure should be inserted in the text, e.g., (Insert Table X here).

  4. 4. 

    Tables or figures should be reasonably interpretable without reference to the text.

  5. 5. 

    Notes should be included as necessary.

  6. 6. 

    Figures must be prepared in a form suitable for printing.

Citations: Work cited should use the “author-date system” keyed to a list of works in the reference list (see below). Authors should make an effort to include the relevant page numbers in the cited works.

  1. 1. 

    In the text, works are cited as follows: author's last name and year, without comma, in parentheses. For example: one author, (Berry 2003); two authors, (Fehr and Schmidt 2003); three to five authors, (Scholes, Wolfson, Erickson, Maydew, and Shevlin 2008); six or more authors, (Dikolli et al. 2013); more than one work cited, (Cole and Yakushiji 1984; Dechow, Sloan, and Sweeney 1995; Levitt 1998); with two works by the same author(s), (Nelson 2003, 2005).

  2. 2. 

    For repeated citations of works that have three or more authors, use only the first author's last name followed by “et al.” (et is not followed by a period): first citation, Dechow, Kothari, and Watts (1998); subsequent citations, Dechow et al. (1998).

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    Unless confusion would result, do not use “p.” or “pp.” before page numbers. For example, (Dechow and Dichev 2002, 41–42).

  4. 4. 

    When the reference list contains two or more works by the same author (the only author or first of two or more authors) published in the same year, the suffix a, b, etc., is appended to the date in the within-text citations and in the “References” section. For example, (Johansson 2004a, 2004b, 2004c; Baiman and Rajan 2002a, 2002b; Dhaliwal, Erickson, and Li 2005a; Dhaliwal, Krull, Li, and Moser 2005b).

  5. 5. 

    When the author's name is mentioned in the text, it need not be repeated in the citation. For example: “Cohen et al. (2005) provide …”

  6. 6. 

    Citations to institutional works should use acronyms or short titles where practicable: for example, (AAA ASOBAT 1966); (AICPA Cohen Commission Report 1977). Where brief, the full title of an institutional work might be shown in a citation: for example, (ICAEW The Corporate Report 1975).

  7. 7. 

    If the manuscript refers to statutes, legal treatises, or court cases, citations acceptable in law reviews should be used.

Every manuscript must include a list of references containing only those works cited. Each entry should contain all data necessary for unambiguous identification. With the author-date system, use the following format recommended by the Chicago Manual:

  1. 1. 

    Arrange citations in alphabetical order according to surname of the first author or the name of the institution responsible for the work.

  2. 2. 

    Use authors' initials instead of proper names.

  3. 3. 

    Dates of publication should be placed immediately after author or institution names.

  4. 4. 

    Titles of journals, newspapers, and other periodical publications should not be abbreviated.

  5. 5. 

    Two or more works by the same author(s) published in the same year are distinguished by letters a, b, etc., after the date, e.g., Smith and Jones 2005a, Smith and Jones 2005b.

  6. 6. 

    For resource materials that were only available online and are now no longer available, please include a “last accessed” date.

Examples:

Baiman, S., and M. Rajan. 2002a. The role of information and opportunism in the choice of buyer-supplier relationships. Journal of Accounting Research 40 (2): 247–278.

Baiman, S., and M. Rajan. 2002b. Incentive issues in inter-firm relationships. Accounting, Organizations and Society 27 (3): 213–238.

Berry, R. 2003. Testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. November 18. Available at: http://hsgac.senate.gov/files/111803berry.pdf.

Cohen, D., A. Dey, and T. Lys. 2005. The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002: Implications for Compensation Structure and Risk-Taking Incentives of CEOs. Working paper, New York University, University of Chicago, and Northwestern University.

Cole, R., and T. Yakushiji, eds. 1984. The American and Japanese Auto Industries in Transition. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.

Dechow, P. M., R. Sloan, and A. Sweeney. 1995. Detecting earnings management. The Accounting Review 70 (2): 193–225.

Dechow, P. M., S. P. Kothari, and R. L. Watts. 1998. The relation between earnings and cash flows. Journal of Accounting and Economics 25: 133–168.

Dechow, P. M., and I. Dichev. 2002. The quality of accruals and earnings: The role of accrual estimation errors, The Accounting Review 77 (Supplement): 35–59.

De Waegenaere, A., R. Sansing, and J. Wielhouwer. 2001. Valuation of Deferred Tax Assets from a Net Operating Loss Carryover. Discussion Paper No. 2001-24. Available at: http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=4002 (last accessed July 11, 2011).

Dhaliwal, D., M. Erickson, and O. Li. 2005a. Shareholder income taxes and the relation between earnings and returns. Contemporary Accounting Research 22: 587–616.

Dhaliwal, D., L. Krull, O. Li, and W. Moser. 2005b. Dividend taxes and implied cost of equity capital. Journal of Accounting Research 43: 675–708.

Dikolli, S. S., J. H. Evans III, J. Hales, M. Matejka, D. V. Moser, and M. G. Williamson. 2013. Testing analytical models using archival or experimental methods. Accounting Horizons 27 (1): 129–139.

Easton, P. 2003. Discussion of: The predictive value of expenses excluded from pro forma earnings. Review of Accounting Studies 8: 175–183.

Engel, E., R. Hayes, and X. Wang. 2007. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and firms' going-private decisions. Journal of Accounting and Economics (forthcoming).

Fehr, E., and K. Schmidt. 2003. A theory of fairness, competition, and cooperation. In Advances in Behavioral Economics, edited by C. Camerer, G. Loewenstein, and M. Rabin, 271–296. New York, NY: Princeton University Press.

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). 2006. Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, and Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109. FASB Interpretation No. 48. Financial Accounting Series. Norwalk, CT: FASB.

Janis, I. L. 1982. Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Levitt, A. 1998. The numbers game. Speech delivered at New York University, Center for Law and Business, September 28.

Maggi, G. 1999. The value of commitment with imperfect observability and private information. RAND Journal of Economics (Winter) 30: 555–574.

National Commission on Fraudulent Reporting (the Treadway Commission). 1987. Report of the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting. Washington, D.C.: NCFFR.

Nelson, M. W. 2003. Behavioral evidence on the effects of principles- and rules-based standards. Accounting Horizons 17 (1): 91–104.

Nelson, M. W. 2005. A review of experimental and archival conflicts-of-interest research in auditing. In Conflicts of Interest: Challenges and Solutions in Business, Law, Medicine, and Public Policy, edited by D. A. Moore, D. M. Cain, G. Loewenstein, and M. H. Bazerman. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

Rigdon, E. E., R. E. Schumacker, and W. Wothke. 1998. A comparative review of interaction and nonlinear modeling. In Interaction and Nonlinear Effects in Structural Equation Modeling, edited by R. E. Schumacker, and G. A. Marcoulides, 1–16. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.

Scholes, M., M. Wolfson, M. Erickson, E. Maydew, and T. Shevlin. 2008. Taxes and Business Strategy: A Planning Approach. 4th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Schultz, E., and T. Francis. 2002. Companies profit on workers' deaths through “dead peasants” insurance. Wall Street Journal (April 19): 1.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 2002. Certification of Disclosure in Companies' Quarterly and Annual Reports. Release Nos. 33-8124, 34-46427. Washington, D.C.: SEC.

U.S. House of Representatives. 2002. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Public Law 107–204 [H. R. 3763]. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

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 consecutively numbered throughout the manuscript with superscript Arabic numerals. In the initial submissions, footnotes can be at the bottom of the page. In the final version of an accepted manuscript, footnote text should be double-spaced and placed at the end of the article.

An objective of Current Issues in Auditing is to promote the wide dissemination of insights to the practitioner and academic communities. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce any of the contents of Current Issues in Auditing for use in university or professional 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, 5717 Bessie Drive, Sarasota, FL 34233-2399, for permission to reproduce any of the contents of Current Issues in Auditing for use in other than courses of instruction—e.g., inclusion in books of readings or in any other publications intended for general distribution. In consideration for the grant of permission by Current Issues in Auditing 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 in articles, the copyright interest has been transferred to the American Accounting Association. Where the author(s) has (have) not transferred the copyright 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.