About the Journal

I. About the Journal

The Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Finance (JCAF) (ISSN: 1859-4093) is an open access scientific journal published by the Academy of Finance (AOF), Ministry of Finance, Vietnam. The editorial office is located at Room 317, Administration Building, No. 58 Le Van Hien Street, Duc Thang Ward, Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Journal originated from the Journal of Financial Accounting Research, which was established under Decision No. 109/2003/QD-BTC dated July 24, 2003 by the Minister of Finance of Vietnam. The first issue was published in August 2003, marking the establishment of a reputable academic forum for scholarly exchange in the fields of economics, finance, accounting, auditing, and related disciplines.

The Journal operates under press licenses issued by the competent authorities of Vietnam, including License No. 2003/GP-BVHTT dated July 9, 2003; License No. 144/GP-BTTTT dated March 28, 2016; License No. 487/GP-BTTTT dated October 28, 2016; and Official Dispatch No. 823/BTTTT-CBC regarding amendments to the press operation license.

JCAF is a scientific publication under the Academy of Finance and is currently published six issues per year. The Journal has been recognized by the State Council for Professorship of Vietnam as one of the academic journals awarded the maximum publication score (1.0 point) in the field of economics and finance.

Starting from 2026, the Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Finance officially publishes its English electronic edition, serving as the international version of the Journal to enhance global academic exchange and collaboration.

The Journal is committed to disseminating high-quality research and promoting academic dialogue among scholars, experts, policymakers, and practitioners from Vietnam and around the world.

Aim and Scope

The Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Finance is a peer-reviewed scientific journal specializing in the fields of economics, finance, accounting, and related disciplines.

The Journal publishes high-quality original research articles, review papers, and scholarly discussions with significant theoretical and practical contributions.

Its scope includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

  • Economics
  • Public finance
  • Corporate finance
  • Banking and financial markets
  • Insurance and risk management
  • Taxation and fiscal policy
  • Treasury and public financial management
  • Customs and international trade finance
  • Business administration and management
  • Accounting and auditing
  • Financial reporting and corporate governance
  • Financial technology (FinTech)
  • Other related fields in economics and finance

Through continuous improvement in both editorial standards and publication quality, the Journal aims to strengthen its role as a reputable academic platform contributing to research development, policy discussion, and practical applications in economics and finance.

Peer Review Process

Introduction to Peer Review

Peer review plays a critical role in ensuring that the articles published in the Journal meet high academic standards and contribute meaningfully to the scientific community. As an essential component of the publication process, peer review helps validate the originality, rigor, and relevance of submitted manuscripts.

Expert reviewers provide constructive feedback and recommendations to authors, helping improve the quality and clarity of submitted manuscripts.

Initial Manuscript Evaluation

All newly submitted manuscripts are first screened by the Editorial Office to ensure compliance with the Journal’s submission requirements and Instructions for Authors.

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are assigned to an Editor for further evaluation. At this stage, the Editor assesses whether the manuscript:

  • Fits within the aims and scope of the Journal
  • Demonstrates sufficient originality and academic contribution
  • Meets basic standards of research methodology and academic writing

Manuscripts may be rejected at this stage if they:

  • Fall outside the scope of the Journal
  • Lack sufficient originality
  • Contain significant conceptual or methodological flaws
  • Have poor language quality

Authors are normally informed of the initial decision within a short time after submission.

Double-Blind Peer Review

The Journal employs a double-blind peer review process, in which both the authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout the review process.

To ensure anonymity, authors must prepare manuscripts without including identifying information such as names, affiliations, or contact details within the manuscript file. Author information should be submitted separately according to the Journal’s submission guidelines.

Selection of Reviewers

Reviewers are selected based on:

  • Their academic expertise
  • Research publications in the relevant field
  • Previous experience as peer reviewers

The Authors are welcome to suggest potential Reviewers; however, it is the Editors' decision whether or not to honor such suggestions. The Journal database of Reviewers is constantly being updated to track who is matched for peer review of manuscripts.

Peer Review Time

Typically, the first round of peer review is completed within three to four weeks.

Reviewers may recommend:

  • Acceptance
  • Minor revisions
  • Major revisions
  • Rejection

If the Reviewers cannot finish the review, please inform the Editors immediately so the manuscript is transferred to other Reviewers. The Reviewers and Editors may request more than one revision round of a manuscript, and alternative Reviewers may also be invited to review the manuscript at any time. Revised manuscripts are usually returned to the original reviewers for further evaluation before a final decision is made.

Final Decision for Publication

The final decision regarding manuscript acceptance or rejection is made by the Editors, based on reviewers’ recommendations and the overall academic quality of the manuscript.

Once a manuscript is accepted, it proceeds to the editing, formatting, and production stage, after which proof copies are sent to the authors for final checking before publication.

Publication Frequency

The Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Finance publishes six issues per year.

Article Processing Charge (Free)

This journal does not charge any article processing fees. All stages of the publication process, including submission, peer review, editing, and online publication, are provided free of charge to authors.

License

Unless otherwise stated, articles published in the Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Finance are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Journal Policies

The Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Finance is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Academy of Finance (AOF), Ministry of Finance, Vietnam.

The Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and follows internationally recognized guidelines, including:

  • COPE – Committee on Publication Ethics
  • Elsevier Publishing Ethics Resource Kit (PERK)
  • Cambridge University Press Research Publishing Ethics Guidelines

These guidelines are available at:

https://publicationethics.org/
https://www.elsevier.com/editors/perk
https://www.cambridge.org/core/about/ethical-standards

The Journal is guided by the following core policies.

For Authors

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts represent original work that has not been previously published or simultaneously submitted to another journal.

Authors must present research results accurately, honestly, and transparently, without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.

All manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software (iThenticate) to ensure originality.

Authorship and Corresponding Author

 All individuals who actually contributed to the work are to be included as Authors. If the work was prepared jointly, the order of the Authors (from left to right) should be made based on their contribution on development of the scientific and applied ideas; performance of analyses, experiments, evaluations, comments for the work; creation of the manuscript. 

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  • Submitting the manuscript
  • Communicating with the Editorial Office
  • Responding to reviewers’ comments
  • Coordinating communication among co-authors

The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors have approved the final manuscript prior to submission.

Errors in Published Articles

If an author identifies significant errors or inaccuracies in a published article, the author must promptly notify the Editors and cooperate in issuing a correction or retraction if necessary.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given by citing the source at appropriate places. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript relevant funding sources. Authors are required to declare whether or not they have financial, professional or personal interests from other parties or another conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript.

Ethical Standards

Authors must ensure that their manuscript does not contain defamatory, unlawful, or misleading statements, and does not violate the rights or privacy of individuals or organizations.

Map showing international boundaries 

Authors are responsible for accurately depicting internationally recognized boundaries of countries in maps submitted for publication. Any paper found to have inaccuracies regarding international boundaries will not be published, and published papers found with such discrepancies will be retracted.

For Reviewers

Confidentiality

The Reviewer undertakes to keep submitted manuscripts and associated data confidential and privileged. The manuscripts must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the Editors. The Reviewer ensures that confidentiality is maintained while seeking advice from colleagues and assessing the manuscripts.

Contribution to Manuscript Improvement

The manuscript is improved by the peer review process. When possible and appropriate, the Reviewer suggests how the Author might improve clarity and the overall quality of the manuscript. It is alright if the Reviewer disagrees with the Author’s ideas and asks the Author to provide reliable evidence to the disagreement. If the article is too long, the Reviewer points out specific areas which would benefit the Author from editing. The Reviewer makes suggestions to correct grammar when the technical meaning is unclear.

Timeliness

The Reviewers who accept invitations to review the manuscripts are requested to respond promptly and provide their comments within the agreed timeframe. If the Reviewers anticipate that they will not be able to meet the deadline, they are requested to inform the Editors so that new arrangements can be set up.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should decline to review a manuscript if they have any potential conflict of interest with the authors or the research.

Ethical Standards 

The Reviewer’s comments to the Author should be professional and courteous in order to ask for clarification on any items in the manuscript that feel unclear and require for additional explanation. Being rude or derogatory is not acceptable. The Reviewer’s comments should not include overtly negative comments which are unhelpful. If the Author provides reliable evidence to the disagreement about the research ideas, the Reviewer does not merit rejection. The Author welcomes positive and constructive feedback to the Reviewer’s comments.

Recommendation for Publication

Revised manuscripts are usually returned to the original Reviewers, who are asked to confirm that the comments have been addressed satisfactorily. The Reviewers are asked to make recommendation for publication to the Editors regarding a final decision. 

For Editors

Quality and Academic Standards

The Editors are responsible for identifying new and important topics for commissions, sourcing high quality manuscripts, approaching potential Authors and ultimately improving the quality of the Journal’s content. The Editors endorse the Journal to Readers, Authors and Colleagues and encourage them to submit their Work with high quality.

Selection of Reviewers

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal are selected for double-blind peer-review by at least two Reviewers chosen by the Editors. The Authors are welcome to suggest at least three potential Reviewers; however, it is the Editors' decision whether or not to honor such suggestions. Reviewers are selected based on their expertise, prior publications in the same topic area and prior performance as a Reviewer.

Management of the Review Process 

The Editors are responsible for handling day-to-day works on manuscripts (for connection from the Authors to the Reviewers and back and finally to the publisher), making suggestions for subject matter and providing second opinions on manuscripts when there is a conflict between the Reviewers.

Editing the Review Report

The Editors reserve the right to edit review reports before transmitted to the Authors in order to remove offensive language or to remove comments that reveal confidential information.

Plagiarism Detection

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal are screened for detection of plagiarism using the iThenticate software by the Crossref Similarity Check as a service in order to verify the originality of manuscripts.

Editorial Decision

Editors make the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of manuscripts based on:

  • Reviewer recommendations
  • Scientific quality and originality
  • Relevance to the Journal’s scope
  • Compliance with ethical and editorial standards

Indexing and Abstracting

The Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Finance aims to expand its international visibility and indexing coverage. Information regarding indexing and abstracting services will be updated on the Journal website.

Plagiarism Detection

All manuscripts submitted to the Journal are screened using iThenticate plagiarism detection software before publication to ensure originality and academic integrity.