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The Accounting Review (TAR) is the flagship peer-reviewed journal of the American Accounting Association (AAA). Established in 1926, it is widely considered one of the premier scholarly accounting journals globally. The journal publishes theoretical, empirical, and methodological research across all accounting subdisciplines, including financial reporting, auditing, management accounting, taxation, and information systems.
For researchers choosing where to submit or evaluating citations, this guide details The Accounting Review‘s scope, operational turnaround metrics, submission fees, open access policies, and peer review standards.
What it is
The Accounting Review is a bimonthly academic journal indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) within Clarivate’s Web of Science Master Journal List and Elsevier Scopus. It carries print ISSN 0001-4826 and online ISSN 1558-7967.
The journal operates primarily on an institutional subscription and AAA membership model. Effective January 1, 2026, the AAA introduced a Hybrid Gold Open Access publishing option under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license, requiring an Article Publishing Charge (APC) of $3,900 for authors who select immediate public access.
| Metric or Parameter | Verified Value | Source and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Journal Impact Factor (JIF) | 4.0 | Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (SSCI, Q1) |
| CiteScore | 7.5 | Elsevier Scopus (Q1 in Accounting and Finance) |
| Journal Citation Indicator (JCI) | 1.23 | Clarivate Analytics |
| Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) | 2.682 | Elsevier Scopus contextual citation impact |
| SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) | 4.403 | SCImago / Scopus indicator |
| Publishing Schedule | 6 issues per year | Bimonthly (January, March, May, July, September, November) |
| AAA Member Submission Fee | $285 | Required at submission via AAA payment portal |
| Hybrid Gold Open Access APC | $3,900 | Optional CC-BY license starting January 1, 2026 |
| First Decision (Post-Review) | 63 days | Official AAA editorial report median |
| Submission to Final Acceptance | 739 days | Reflects comprehensive multi-round revision cycles |
| Acceptance to Online Publication | 29 days | Production turnaround to early-access release |
Who runs it and what it covers
The Accounting Review is published by the American Accounting Association. Editorial operations are led by Senior Editor Mohan Venkatachalam (Duke University, Fuqua School of Business), working alongside Lead Editors and an international editorial board of active accounting scholars. The editorial office is managed jointly with the AAA Director of Publications.
The journal’s scope covers all areas of accounting research:
- Financial Accounting: Capital markets research, disclosure choices, earnings quality, standard-setting consequences, and international financial reporting.
- Auditing and Assurance: Audit quality, auditor judgments, regulatory inspections, internal control effectiveness, and assurance technology.
- Management Accounting: Managerial incentive schemes, performance measurement, budgeting systems, and cost analysis.
- Taxation: Corporate tax avoidance, tax compliance, tax policy effects, and book-tax trade-offs.
- Accounting Information Systems: Internal system controls, enterprise reporting frameworks, data governance, and analytics in accounting.
TAR accepts all rigorous methodologies: archival empirical research, analytical modeling, laboratory experiments, behavioral surveys, qualitative studies, and field research. The primary publication criterion is the significance of the paper’s original contribution to literature.
How to search or use it
Authors submit manuscripts online through Editorial Manager, while readers access articles through the AAA Digital Library. For manuscript submission, authors complete the following verified seven-step process:
- Format manuscript and test via preflight: Prepare the manuscript following the AAA Manuscript Preparation Guide and Chicago author-date style. Ensure the main text, references, and appendices are blinded to protect double-blind peer review. The AAA officially recommends testing drafts through the Paperpal Preflight automated screening tool to verify formatting prior to upload.
- Prepare mandatory compliance disclosures: Complete the mandatory Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosure for all authors. For studies involving human participants (such as behavioral experiments or survey respondents), document Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval under 45 CFR 46 Common Rule standards. Disclose any use of generative artificial intelligence, adhering to AAA standards on whether AI can be listed as an author.
- Access the Editorial Manager portal: Navigate to the journal’s submission portal at
editorialmanager.com/accrand log in as an author. - Remit the submission fee: Pay the non-refundable submission fee ($285 for AAA members) via the AAA payment portal and retain the transaction receipt.
- Upload submission files: In Editorial Manager, upload the unblinded Title Page, the Blinded Manuscript, separate tables and figures, and supplemental appendices under their designated item categories.
- Provide manuscript metadata: Enter the title, abstract, keywords, and Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification codes, and confirm manuscript exclusivity.
- Build, inspect, and approve the submission: Generate the composite PDF in Editorial Manager, examine the proof to verify formatting and complete anonymization, and submit the paper for senior editorial review.
To read published articles, researchers use the AAA Digital Library. Full access is included with AAA membership or institutional site licenses, while non-members can purchase individual articles for $25.
Strengths and limits
Evaluating The Accounting Review involves balancing its scholarly prestige against operational constraints.
Strengths
- Premier scholarly prestige: Included on elite research rankings including the Financial Times Top 50 (FT50) and UTD Top 100 business journal lists, making it a cornerstone for academic tenure and promotion.
- Methodological pluralism: Unlike economics-focused peers, TAR welcomes behavioral, experimental, analytical, and qualitative research alongside archival empirical work.
- Predictable first-round turnaround: Median post-review first decision time is 63 days, offering timely editorial guidance.
- Rapid online dissemination: Accepted manuscripts appear online within a median of 29 days.
Limits
- Extended multi-round revision timeline: Median time from submission to final acceptance is 739 days (over two years), requiring sustained author revisions.
- Mandatory submission fees: The non-refundable submission fee ($285 for AAA members, higher for non-members) creates upfront hurdles for unfunded researchers.
- High selectivity: Flagship status means overall acceptance rates historically fall below 10%.
- Paywalled distribution: Because TAR is not an open access journal indexed in DOAJ, articles remain behind a paywall unless authors fund the $3,900 CC-BY APC.
Alternatives
Researchers submitting accounting scholarship frequently compare The Accounting Review against other elite journals in the discipline:
| Journal | Publisher / Sponsoring Body | Primary Methodological Orientation | Peer Review Model | Open Access Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Accounting Review (TAR) | American Accounting Association | Comprehensive across all accounting domains; archival, experimental, analytical, and qualitative | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid subscription; optional CC-BY Gold OA ($3,900 APC) |
| Journal of Accounting and Economics (JAE) | Elsevier / University of Rochester | Applies economic theory and econometric analysis to accounting institutions | Single-blind / double-blind | Hybrid subscription; optional Gold OA via Elsevier |
| Journal of Accounting Research (JAR) | Wiley / University of Chicago (Booth) | Empirical, theoretical, and experimental accounting research | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid subscription; optional Gold OA via Wiley |
| Review of Accounting Studies (RAST) | Springer | Analytical theory and empirical capital markets accounting research | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid subscription (Springer Open Choice) |
| Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR) | Wiley / CAAA | Multi-paradigmatic and international accounting scholarship | Double-blind peer review | Hybrid subscription; optional Gold OA via Wiley |
What is The Accounting Review’s Impact Factor and CiteScore?
The Accounting Review holds an Impact Factor of 4.0 in Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports (SSCI, Q1) and a Scopus CiteScore of 7.5. It also records a SNIP of 2.682 and an SJR of 4.403. Authors can consult our guide on how to look up a journal’s impact factor for details on citation metrics.
How much is the submission fee for The Accounting Review?
Authors must pay a non-refundable submission fee of $285 for AAA members. Higher fees apply to non-member submissions
How long does the review process take at The Accounting Review?
The median time from submission to first decision post-review is 63 days. Due to multi-round revisions, median time from initial submission to final acceptance is 739 days. Accepted papers publish online in a median of 29 days.
Does The Accounting Review offer open access?
TAR is primarily a subscription journal not indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). However, effective January 1, 2026, authors may publish Hybrid Gold Open Access under a CC-BY license by paying a $3,900 Article Publishing Charge (APC).
What peer review model does The Accounting Review use?
The journal uses double-blind peer review. Author and reviewer identities are masked throughout evaluation. The Senior Editor screens submissions before assigning an editor and independent reviewers.
Who is the current Senior Editor of The Accounting Review?
The Senior Editor is Mohan Venkatachalam of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, serving alongside Lead Editors and an international board.
Sources
- American Accounting Association, The Accounting Review Journal Profile and Policies, https://aaahq.org/Research/Journals/The-Accounting-Review (accessed November 9, 2026).
- American Accounting Association, The Accounting Review Guide for Authors and Publication Ethics Policy, https://aaahq.org/Research/Journals/The-Accounting-Review/Guide-for-Authors (accessed November 9, 2026).
- American Accounting Association, The Accounting Review Impact and Journal Report, https://aaahq.org/Research/Journals/The-Accounting-Review/Impact-and-Journal-Report (accessed November 9, 2026).
- Clarivate Analytics, Web of Science Master Journal List: The Accounting Review (SSCI: ISSN 0001-4826 / EISSN 1558-7967), https://mjl.clarivate.com/ (accessed November 9, 2026).
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Journal Verification Record (ISSN 0001-4826), https://doaj.org/ (accessed November 9, 2026).
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