Call for Papers

REQUEST FOR PAPERS

60^th Annual (2025) Ray Ball Journal of Accounting Research Conference

AI and Large Language Models in Accounting Research

The 2025 Ray Ball Journal of Accounting Research Conference will be held at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business on May 2-3, 2025.  Funding for the conference is generously provided by the Chookaszian Accounting Research Center at Chicago Booth.

We encourage submissions for the upcoming 2025 JAR Conference across a broad set of research areas but are especially interested in submissions exploring the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Language Models on capital markets and our field more broadly. AI and language modeling hold the potential to revolutionize information production, communication, and financial reporting. We seek innovative papers addressing the challenges and opportunities these emerging AI technologies introduce for the users and producers of financial information and society at large. We also welcome insights into the evolving role of accounting regulators in this dynamic environment.

As is traditionally the case with the JAR conference, papers selected for inclusion in the conference are published in the annual conference issue in the spring of the year following the conference (the inclusion of conference papers in the conference issue is, as always, subject to satisfactory resolution of the editorial review process). Conference submissions will be considered for both inclusion in the conference and the journal at the same time.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Papers should be submitted at wiley.atyponrex.com/journal/JOAR. The submission fee is $750, $500, or $50 (based on the country the submitting authors reside in). The deadline for submission is December 1, 2024.

REQUEST FOR REGISTERED REPORTS   

Third Registered Reports Conference

October 24-25, 2024

Journal of Accounting Research (JAR) seeks to encourage work in accounting developed through the Registration-based Editorial Process (REP) process.  We will accept registered report proposals every 3 years.  The proposal process for the 2024 conference will be similar to the 2021 REP format. Specifically, we will follow a three-stage process with the goal of an early stage conference held to provide feedback to authors between stages 1 and 2. JAR will hold a virtual conference devoted to registered report proposals on October 24 – October 25, 2024.

The timeline for the registered report proposals is as follows:

Stage 1 (August 1, 2024): Submission of initial REP proposal for consideration for presentation at the conference.

Conference (October 24 – October 25, 2024): Presentation of selected REP proposals to conference audience for feedback.

Stage 2 (date varies): Submission of REP proposals selected at conference to the Journal for review and consideration as a REP.  The result of this process will be either an “In principle acceptance” or rejection as a REP.  Rejected REPs may still be submitted to the journal as a regular manuscript at a later point.

Stage 3: Execution of project and submission of the final REP to Journal for evaluation.  The result of this process will be either publication or rejection for lack of conformity with the REP process.

In Stage 1, authors submit a proposal that describes the hypotheses, the data they will gather, and (in considerable detail) the research design and analyses they will use to interpret their results. REGISTERED REPORTS SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Registered reports should be submitted to JAR submission site on Research Exchange. The submission fee is $750, $500, or $50 (based on the country the submitting authors reside in).. The deadline for Stage 1 submissions is August 1, 2024. 

At Stage 1, we will set a high bar for contribution and novelty.  We encourage projects that entail the testing of clearly specified (and theoretically founded) hypotheses as well as projects that include the collection or generation of new data.  In addition to proposals using empirical archival methods and laboratory experiments, both of which have been included in JAR’s prior Registered Reports Conferences, we also very much welcome proposals using field experiments. A key criterion for accepting proposals will be that the results are interpretable and insightful regardless of the authors’ ultimate findings. 

Ideally, the proposals will include power analyses or other similar analyses that provide assurance that the authors’ proposed analyses will allow meaningful interpretations, regardless of the ultimate findings.  Authors are strongly encouraged to present their proposed projects in workshops prior to submission to the conference.  Early feedback on the design of the registered report is critical for its success. 

After the conference, the editors will decide which proposals remain in contention for Stage 2 of the REP process.  Authors of these proposals will then have the opportunity to revise their proposals and resubmit to the journal, at which point they will be formally reviewed as registered report proposals (Stage 2). 

In Stage 2, editors, reviewers and authors will work towards an acceptable “Registered Report.” We expect that only a subset of reports will eventually be given in-principle acceptance as a Registered Report.  Manuscripts that do not pass Stage 2 may be submitted to JAR as a regular manuscript if the editors’ feedback indicates they show some promise of ultimate publication. 

In Stage 3, editors and referees will evaluate whether the authors have executed their planned analyses, whether these analyses conform to the proposal, and whether the authors’ additional analyses and their interpretations are appropriate given the realization of the data.  Manuscripts that pass Stage 3 will be published in a regular issue at JAR.  Manuscripts rejected in Stage 3 cannot be resubmitted to JAR. 

The Registered Report process encourages researchers to engage in innovative research and to gather new data because the realization of the data and results of the analysis do not affect the evaluation of the Registered Report.  Authors of proposals that have received in-principle acceptance can undertake the hard work of data gathering without concern that their Registered Report will be rejected simply because the data did not support their hypotheses.  However, we emphasize that, in Stage 2, our aim is to accept only proposals whose results are interpretable and insightful regardless of outcome. 

The process also helps readers evaluate the strength of the empirical evidence being reported, because the authors have no ability to modify their hypotheses or planned analyses after observing their data, and have no publication incentive to distort unplanned analyses in order to support their hypotheses.  As a result, this process encourages replications of well‐known results with new data that have since become available.

STANDING CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Survey Paper Proposals Relevant to Accounting Research

The Journal of Accounting Research is pleased to issue an open call for survey paper proposals. Proposals should be brief (no more than a few pages) and may be submitted at any time. Proposals received will be considered by the senior editors on a timely basis. Approved proposals provide an agreed-upon framework for the author(s) to follow in writing up their survey papers prior to eventual submission (but do not guarantee publication). Submitted survey papers will undergo a feedback process involving a reviewer and/or AE as well as one or several senior editors. Satisfactory revision of the full survey paper in response to this feedback will result in publication of the survey paper in the Journal of Accounting Research.

Surveys can aid scholars by expanding their knowledge and understanding of an area of inquiry. They also help policy makers, regulators and other audiences in assessing the state of knowledge in a research area. We particularly encourage survey proposals that not only summarize and review an existing set of studies, but that build a framework for understanding and interpreting the extant work. They should also provide thoughtful guidance to readers about gaps in the existing literature and opportunities for future research. We invite the submission of both proposals for surveys on topics and on methods. We encourage proposals across a broad range of topics or methods related to research in accounting. Proposals should be sufficiently detailed to allow the editors to gauge the purpose and the flow of the survey. The authors should be recognized experts in the area of the submitted proposals.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:  Survey paper proposals should be submitted via JAR submission site on Research Exchange.   A $250 proposal reviewer fee is due with the proposal.  To pay, visit JAR’s online payment page.