| Inside
the Journal
By
Robert H. Colson
As
they do every year, The CPA Journal editors would
like to thank the editorial board members, review board members,
ad hoc reviewers, and the many diligent professionals that
create the articles the rest of us read. The
Journal serves the CPA profession by providing a public
forum for analysis, discourse, and debate on the most important
technical and professional issues in accounting and auditing,
taxation, finance, management, technology, and CPA professional
responsibilities. It publishes three types of articles:
focused analyses of interest to all CPAs; essential professional
information in about two-dozen interest areas; and, in Perspectives,
edited by Thomas W. Morris, opinion pieces and assessments
of current affairs affecting CPAs.
The
Journal operates as a reviewed submission journal,
with papers submitted from the diverse grassroots of the
profession: public practice, academe, industry, government,
regulatory agencies, standards setters, and retirement.
After an editorial assessment for general appropriateness,
manuscripts are sent to two members of the editorial board
or editorial review board, or ad hoc reviewers, for a blind
review (the reviewers do not know the author’s identity,
and vice versa) for timeliness, relevance, innovation, readability,
and technical accuracy.
Reviewers
can accept, reject, or request revisions from the authors
based on those criteria. Agreeing with the author’s
point of view or conclusions is not a consideration.
The Journal editors oversee the review process, make
final determinations based on the reviews received, and
schedule articles for publication in a way that covers current
issues in the profession. The editors also offer significant
writing assistance to achieve the crisp, concise, and straightforward
style characteristic of the Journal. Authors receive
page proofs of their articles for review before publication.
During
the year between June 1, 2003, and May 31, 2004, the Journal
received 333 submissions (340 and 199 in the two previous
periods). Of those, 228 (182 last year) were eventually
accepted, 85 (83 last year) were rejected, 49 (75 last year)
were returned to the authors for revisions, and five were
withdrawn before a decision was reached. The average length
of time in the review process was 50 days (61 and 76 in
the two previous periods). The average article took approximately
166 days from acceptance to publication (149 and 132 in
the two previous periods). Individuals with some academic
affiliation submitted 177 articles (163 last year); 156
submissions (177 last year) came from nonacademics. The
acceptance rate for submissions from academics was 70% (46%
last year); for nonacademics, the acceptance rate was 60%
(65% last year). Currently, we have an inventory of 96 articles
accepted for publication in the Essentials and Perspectives
sections.
The
Journal editorial staff plans the content for a particular
issue in the last week of the third month preceding the
issue date. For example, the content for the January 2005
issue was determined in the last week in October from the
inventory of available accepted articles. The production
process for an issue requires approximately 45 days, with
another 30 days of editorial lead-time. The Journal
may “fast-track” an important article if timeliness
is an issue, but the capacity for fast-tracking is limited
to one or two items per issue.
Members
of the Journal’s editorial board develop
topics and solicit authors, review submissions, and participate
in the annual Max Block Distinguished Article Award program.
The editorial board, editors, and production staff are recognized
each month in the masthead. In addition to these hard-working
and dedicated individuals, the Journal has benefited
in the past period from the efforts of the following members
of the review board and ad hoc reviewers:
Marie
Arrigo, Myron Blatt, Louis Braiotta, Jack M. Brill, Martin
S. Cantor, Lynn Chambers, Charles Chen, Rona Cherno, Andrew
Cohen, Ann Burstein Cohen, Melvin Crystal, Barry F. Doll,
William H. Dresnack, Peter Drexler, Roseanne T. Farley,
Frank Federmann, Peter H. Frank, Neil Gibgot, Henry Goldwasser,
H. Stephen Grace, Dan M. Guy, Abraham Haspel, Mark Hettler,
Ira Inamer, Mark O. Israel, Raymond P. Jones, Joseph Koletar,
Oscar Kolodzinski, Mary-Jo Kranacher, Joel Lanz, Kevin Lewis,
Ernest Markezin, John McAllister, Mark Mycio, Ray Nowicki,
Hugo Nuremburg, John E. Oehler, John J. O'Leary, Dwight
Owsen, Marilyn A. Pendergast, Allan Rabinowitz, Mark Rachleff,
Thomas R. Robinson, Frederick Rothman, Barry Seidel, Mitchell
J. Smilowitz, Charles A. Spector, Joel Steinberg, William
Stocker, Alan R. Sumutka, Neil Tipograph, George I. Victor,
Wanda Wallace, Warren Weinstock, Ron West, James Woehlke,
Cristina N. Wolff, and Philip Wolitzer.
Finally,
I would like to thank all those members of NYSSCPA committees
that have devoted their time and effort to write for the
Journal. Most of the nonacademic submissions come
from this group of dedicated professionals. They participate
in the highest manner in developing our profession by unselfishly
sharing their knowledge. Their efforts are particularly
appreciated. Thanks!
Robert
H. Colson, PhD, CPA
Editor-in-Chief
rhcolson@nysscpa.org
|