Fair play and editorial independence

Editors have a responsibility to ensure a strict and fair review process of manuscripts submitted for publication, to make decisions to accept or reject a paper for publication and to establish and maintain high standards of procedures for review. Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their academic merit (importance, originality, study’s validity, clarity) and its relevance to the journal’s scope.

Editors select reviewers who have the expertise or active in research in the relevant field. If there is no suitably qualified reviewer, editors shall request a review to an external specialist and ensure a fair review process.

Editors’ decisions to accept or reject a paper for publication should be based on the quality of the paper and the journal’s review policy. Consideration should be given without regard to gender, age, institutional affiliation, or personal relationship of the author(s).

Decisions to edit and publish are not determined by any agencies outside of the journal itself. The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the entire editorial content of the journal and the timing of publication of that content.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial board members shall ensure that any information about a submitted manuscript including the name(s) of the author(s), reviewers, potential reviewers, and the research content remains confidential while under review.In addition, editors and editorial board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit written consent. Privileged information or ideas obtained by editors as a result of handling the manuscript will be kept confidential and not used for their personal advantage.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

The editor shall ensure that sponsoring institutions and/or publishing institutions do not exert an unjustifiable influence on the decision to publish or on published papers. The editor shall also provide necessary information about the roles and characteristics of the sponsoring institutions and/or publishing institutions. The editors shall not allow any marketing activities, including solicitation of manuscripts that are conducted on behalf of the journal, to influence the review and publication processes.

Editors will recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions connected to the papers; instead, they will ask another member of the editorial board to handle the manuscript.

Publication decisions

The editors ensure that all submitted manuscripts being considered for publication undergo peer-review by at least three reviewers who are experts in the field. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal will be published, based on the validation of the work in question, its importance to researchers and readers, the reviewers’ comments, and such legal requirements as are currently in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The Editor-in-Chief may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Involvement and cooperation in investigations

If editors receive concerns about questionable research practices, they should investigate the alleged misconduct and ensure that the investigation process is underway.

KAR editors follow the policies of research ethics committee in Korean Accounting Association when dealing with cases of suspected misconduct. If, on investigation, the ethical concern is well-founded, a correction, retraction, expression of concern or other note as may be relevant, will be published in the journal. Further details are provided in KAR Research Ethics Guidelines.