General Information

RC-SAR is the international research journal journal of the Spanish Association of Accounting Academics [Asociación Española de Profesores Universitarios de Contabilidad]. Edited biannually since 1997, RC-SAR uses the (external double-blind) peer-review system, which is applied by experts in the relevant methodologies and research areas. RC-SAR upholds and adheres to the APA style guidelines contained in the APA Publication Manual (American Psychological Association). Each edition of the journal is published in print, and in an electronic version that is available at www.rc-sar.es.

Aims and scope

Revista de Contabilidad-Spanish Accounting Review - is the international research journal of the Asociación Española de Profesores Universitarios de Contabilidad. Established to further the development of accounting knowledge, the Spanish Accounting Review is a forum for the publication and dissemination of high quality research manuscripts. Aware of the need for research that promotes critical analysis of theories, research issues, policy and practice, the Spanish Accounting Review functions as a pluralist, flexible and open journal, not only with regard to the subject matter, but also with respect to the research paradigms and methodologies of the articles that it publishes. The Spanish Accounting Review publishes both empirical and theoretical papers, often with interdisciplinary perspectives, which offer new perspectives in accounting research from a national, international or organizational standpoint. All manuscripts are double-blind refereed by external reviewers.

Manuscripts submitted to RC-SAR should contain original research that have neither been published nor sent for review to any type of publication. The contents of each article are the exclusive responsibility of the authors.

The following types of works will be considered for publication: research papers, review papers and research notes.

Research papers will constitute original research that in accordance with editorial policy contribute to the development of knowledge on accounting, advancing empirical observations or proposing new methodological approaches. RC-SAR adopts a pluralist approach towards the paradigms and the methodologies of the articles that are published.

Reviews papers are articles which, on the basis of a review of current research on a certain issue, provide summaries or new perspectives that make a contribution to the knowledge of accounting and/or open up new areas of research.

Research Notes are abbreviated research papers that usually include the preliminary results of a research project that is underway. They generally contain fewer than 3,500 words, including bibliography, tables and graphs.

Presentation and structure of papers

The following publication guidelines are based on the APA (American Psychological Association) style manual, which provides complete information on any aspect that is not covered in the guidelines set out below. Originals should have sequentially numbered pages, with double-spaced text and set out as indicated below in an electronic file that must be sent to RC-SAR via its editorial system (www.services.bepress.com/sar/), as explained bellow in the editorial process section. The manuscript must not exceed 8,000 words, including bibliography, tables and graphs.

Title Page. As a cover page to the manuscript, the title of the paper (concise but informative), in Spanish and English, should appear on the first page with the largest possible number of significant terms. No name, information or reference that could identify the authors should appear in the manuscript that is uploaded onto the editorial system. Neither acknowledgements should be included until the paper has been accepted.

Abstract and Keywords. A second separate page should contain the title of the article, a summary of its content and the list of keywords in both Spanish and English. Having a length of between 150 and 250 words, the abstract should describe in a precise and brief way the objective of the research, the methodology used, the most notable results and their main implications, with an emphasis on original contribution. In a new line, 5 to 10 keywords should be specified that identify the content of the work for its inclusion in national and international databases and repertories. Defined reference terms should be used, such as those proposed by the Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) Classification System.

Manuscript Text. The text of the manuscript should start on a new page. In the bibliographic references used in the text, where up to 2 authors appear, the first surnames of the authors will be cited, followed by the year of publication. If there are three, four or five authors, the first surnames of all the authors will be cited at the first point at which they appear in the text; the remaining citations that refer to the same reference will only list the first surname of the first author followed by “et al”. If the number of authors is equal to or more than six, the first surname of the first author will always be cited followed by “et al”. If various bibliographic references are cited simultaneously, they will ordered alphabetically by the authors’ surnames. A small letter will be added to the year to distinguish between various references to the same author and in the same year.

In view of the nature of the research work, as far as possible it is preferable that the structure of the paper be guided by the sections listed below:

Introduction. This should include the basis and the purpose of the study, using only the bibliographic references that are strictly necessary. It should explain the main contribution of the work.

Theoretical development, literature review and development of the hypotheses. Those earlier developments that are necessary to appreciate the nature of the contribution made by the research work should be explained.
Material and methods. Insofar as it may be necessary, the material and methods should be presented in a clear and precise way, so that the reader understands and appreciates the way in which the research has been developed.

Results. The results should be described concisely, in a logical sequence, using tables where necessary, avoiding any repetition of observations. If it is necessary to include tables, it is preferable that the tables appear sequentially placed at the end of the document, with only a reference to the table in the text. Observations made on the basis of the material and methods in use should be described, without interpreting them or making value judgments.

Discussion. Findings should be summarized, relating the specific observations with other studies of interest and underlining the contributions and the limitations of each. The data and other material previously discussed in earlier sections should not be repeated. The inferences of the findings and their limitations should be mentioned, including the implications for future research. The conclusions, which may be included in a separate section, should be linked to the objectives of the study, avoiding speculative inferences and conclusions that are not entirely supported by the data.

Acknowledgements. Only acknowledge the collaboration of individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the study, but who do not have the same standing as an author, having obtained their agreement. Likewise, the source of funding for the research should be explicitly stated. In order to avoid the identification of the authors during the review process, this information should only be included in the final version sent to RC-SAR, once the work has been accepted.

Bibliography. The bibliography should be set out after the conclusions or the acknowledgements, if applicable, with the authors’ surnames in alphabetical order. The bibliographical list should be corrected by the author, checking it against the original copy and taking special care over the accuracy of the references. The bibliography should always refer to published works. Works accepted but as yet not published will be included in the bibliographic quotes, specifying the name of the journal and the word “forthcoming”. Complete bibliographic references should follow the format indicated in the examples below (in other cases, the APA Bibliographical Reference style should be followed):

Edwards, J.R., Dean, G., & Clarke, F. (2009). Merchants' accounts, performance assessment and decision making in mercantilist Britain. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34(5), 551-570.

MacKenzie, D. (forthcoming). Making things the same: Gases, emission rights and the politics of carbon markets. Accounting, Organizations and Society. doi:10.1016/j.aos.2008.02.004.

Scott, W.R. (1995). Institutions and Organizations. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Powell, W.W. (1991). Expanding the scope of institutional analysis. En W.W. Powell and P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 183-203). Chicago : The University of Chicago Press.

Laplace, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities (Trads., F. W. Truscott y F. L. Emory). New York: McGraw-Hill. (Original work published in 1814).

Tables should be presented on separate, numbered sheets according to their order of appearance in the text with numbers. They should be used to clarify important points; double documentation in the form of tables and figures is not acceptable. Titles or captions that accompany them should clearly explain their content.  

Figures. All types of photograph, graph or drawing will be considered figures. They should be given a number according to their order of appearance in the text, being identified by the abbreviation fig.(s). The captions or legends for each one must be typed with the corresponding number on a separate sheet. The text on the figures should appear in capital letters. Figures should clarify the text in an important way and their number should be kept to a minimum.

Abbreviations. Only universally accepted standard abbreviations should be used. When a frequently used term is shortened by an abbreviation, the first time it appears in the text, the abbreviation should appear after it between brackets. Roman numerals should not be used in the text. Commercial names should not be used unless absolutely necessary, in which case the first time they are used they should be accompanied by the appropriate symbol.

Footnotes should be limited to those strictly necessary, in which case they should be sequentially numbered.

Mathematical expressions should be sequentially numbered with numbers between square brackets, justified to the right margin.

Editorial Process

Original manuscripts, either in Spanish or in English, should be submitted to RC-SAR through the editorial system (www.services.bepress.com/sar/). The submission of a work implies that the authors have not simultaneously submitted it to another journal and confirms their authorship.

Having accessed the editorial system, the author responsible for the work should create a user account (create a free account), fill in the information and activate their account by responding to an email sent out by the system. If an account is already held, the “submit an article” option should be selected to follow the instructions that appear on the next screen. On the third screen, the conditions for submitting the article should be accepted, which confirm its authorship and originality. On the fourth screen, personal information on the lead author , and on the fifth screen the information on the other authors (including their order of appearance) should all be revised.

On the sixth screen (with a blue background), the title of the work should be inputted, as well as the keywords taken from the Journal of Economic Literature codes (JEL code; they may be selected from the link), the abstract and the main text of the article set out in accordance with the previously described norms, which may be uploaded in any of the accepted formats. Before sending the article, a cover letter should be included, which requests the review process for publication in the Review, with a clear indication of the type of work and that it has not previously been published or disseminated elsewhere and has only been sent to RC-SAR for review and if appropriate publication. The contributions should also be mentioned with regard to originality and novelty of the work, in the opinion of the authors. Finally, submission of the article should be completed after selecting the option submit.

Submission of the article means that the authors accept the editorial policy and rules for the review and publication of research works in the RC-SAR .

The RC-SAR editorial team will acknowledge receipt of the works with an email and the authors may follow the progress of the articles at any time, by accessing their user account on the editorial system (services.bepress.com/sar/).

If the work submitted meets the publication guidelines, the RC-SAR editorial team will assign it to two experts in its specific area of research and/or methodology, who will conduct an anonymous review of the work (double-blind peer review). In view of these external reports, the RC-SAR editorial team will accept, reject or propose modifications to the articles within a maximum period of ten weeks following receipt of the article. The recommendations for reviewers are publicly accessible at www.rc-sar.es/documentos/recommendations_for_reviewers.doc.

In the case of disparate opinions on the part of reviewers, the work will be forwarded to a third reviewer. Works that are reviewed and that are accepted for publication subject to modification should be returned within a period of two months, whether minor or major corrections are requested. The authors will receive the evaluation reports anonymously, so that they can (if applicable) make the necessary corrections or relevant responses.

In the last version of the article, once it has been definitively accepted, the authors will include the acknowledgements, as explained in the guidelines on presentation of the papers.

The authors of articles that have been accepted will receive the printing proofs via email in PDF format. They should return them corrected via fax or email (PDF) to the Review within 48 hours after their reception. Only minimal changes may be made.

Ethical Responsibilities

Authors writing for RC-SAR should follow the following guidelines:

a) Avoid cultural bias in language by describing individuals and groups with precision and sensitivity.

b) Ensure that they have permission to publish from the institution that has financed the research.

c) Ensure that they have the relevant permission to partially reproduce material (text, tables or figures) from other publications and that they correctly cite their sources.

d) Declare any commercial association that might involve a conflict of interests in connection with the article that they have submitted.

e) Only those people that have made an intellectual contribution to the development of the paper should figure in the list of authors. To have assisted in researching the information or with a certain technique is not, in itself, sufficiently good reason to appear as an author. The Review declines any responsibility for possible conflicts that may arise over the authorship of the works that it publishes. 

Additional Information

The points of view and the opinions expressed in the articles that are published in the Review are wholly a matter for the author and will not necessarily reflect those of the Editorial Team. Both the Editorial Board and ASEPUC decline any responsibility for the content of the material that is published.