This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement set out the ethical standards of IJABF for authors, reviewers, and editors. It explains what the journal expects about authorship, originality, research ethics, academic integrity, and responsible conduct. It also explains how IJABF responds to concerns raised during review or after publication so that the scholarly record remains trustworthy.
Scope and General Principles
IJABF expects all parties to act honestly, respectfully, and professionally. Authors must submit work that is accurate and original. Reviewers must review fairly, keep manuscripts confidential, and avoid conflicts of interest. Editors must make decisions based on academic merit, journal scope, and ethical standards, without discrimination or improper influence. If the journal receives a credible report of possible misconduct, IJABF will assess the concern, request explanations and evidence when needed, and take appropriate action. The journal aims to treat all parties fairly, keep investigations confidential when possible, and correct the record when problems are confirmed.
Authorship and Contributorship
Authorship should be limited to people who made a significant intellectual contribution to the work. This usually includes meaningful input to the study idea or design, data collection, analysis or interpretation, and writing or critical revision of the manuscript. All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission to IJABF. IJABF does not accept gift authorship (adding a name without real contribution) or ghost authorship (hiding a real contributor). Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria, such as language editing, general supervision, or funding acquisition only, should be acknowledged with their permission. Any change to authorship after submission, including adding, removing, or re-ordering authors, requires a written request explaining the reason for the change and written agreement from all authors, including the author being added or removed. The editor will decide whether the change is acceptable. If authorship disputes cannot be resolved, IJABF may pause review or decline the submission.
Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Submission
Authors must submit only original work. Any text, data, figures, tables, or ideas taken from other sources must be properly cited. Plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, and self-plagiarism are not acceptable. IJABF may use similarity checking tools and editorial checks to identify overlap. Submissions must not be under review at another journal at the same time, and must not have been published previously. Limited exceptions may apply, such as preprints, conference abstracts, or working papers, if this is disclosed clearly at submission and if the submission meets IJABF’s requirements. Authors must also disclose any closely related manuscripts using the same dataset or similar text, so the editor can assess overlap and novelty.
Acknowledgements
Authors must give proper credit to all sources of support and contribution. This includes acknowledging individuals, institutions, data providers, and funders who supported the work. Authors should obtain permission from anyone named in the acknowledgements, because being named may imply endorsement or involvement.
Disclosure, Funding, and Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest is any relationship or interest that could influence, or appear to influence, the work. Authors must disclose all relevant financial and non-financial conflicts, as well as all sources of funding. Funding statements should clearly identify the funder and describe the funder’s role, if any, in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or publication decision. Reviewers and editors must also declare conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when appropriate. If a conflict is discovered after publication, IJABF may publish a correction or other notice to ensure transparency for readers.
Ethical Policies and Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their work. Data fabrication (making up data), data falsification (changing data), and selective reporting that misleads readers are serious forms of misconduct and are not permitted. Authors must describe methods clearly enough for readers to understand what was done and to assess the reliability of the results. Where possible and lawful, authors are encouraged to share data, code, instruments, and materials that support the study, or to explain why sharing is not possible. Authors should cite relevant prior work fairly, avoid citation manipulation, and avoid excessive self-citation. Authors must obtain permission for any third-party copyrighted material they use, such as figures, tables, questionnaires, or large text extracts
Research Ethics for Human Participants: Consent, Protection, and Responsibility
Some accounting and business-finance research involves people, such as surveys, interviews, experiments, focus groups, or the use of identifiable personal data. When human participants are involved, authors must follow the highest ethical standards and respect participants’ rights, safety, and dignity. When required by the author’s institution or country, authors must obtain approval from an ethics committee before starting the research, and they must state the approval details in the manuscript. If formal approval was not required, authors should explain why and describe the safeguards used. Authors must obtain informed consent from participants unless a legitimate ethics body approves a waiver. Authors must protect privacy and confidentiality, avoid publishing identifying information unless explicit consent is given, and comply with applicable privacy and data protection laws. Extra care is required when research involves vulnerable groups, and risks must be minimized and clearly explained.
Responsible Use of Generative AI Tools
Generative AI tools (for example, AI writing assistants, translation tools, or summarization tools) may be used in limited ways, but they do not replace author responsibility. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript, including all claims, calculations, citations, and references. If AI tools were used in a meaningful way to draft text, translate, summarize, or edit language, authors should disclose this clearly in the manuscript (for example, in the acknowledgements or a methods note). AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the work. Authors must not use AI to fabricate or manipulate data, results, references, peer-review reports, or citations. Authors must protect data privacy when using AI tools. Confidential, proprietary, or personally identifiable information should not be uploaded to AI systems unless the author has legal permission and the tool’s terms allow such use. Authors should also check AI outputs carefully for errors, bias, and missing context.
Academic Integrity and Publishing Ethics
IJABF expects honest scholarship and transparent reporting. Misconduct includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, manipulated images or figures, undisclosed conflicts of interest, inappropriate authorship practices, and attempts to influence the editorial process. The IJABF does not accept manipulation of peer review, including submitting false reviewer identities, using fake email accounts, or attempting to interfere with reviewer independence. The journal also does not accept citation manipulation, such as adding irrelevant citations to increase counts for an author, editor, reviewer, or journal.
Editors and reviewers must act ethically. Editors must keep submissions confidential, avoid conflicts of interest, and base decisions on quality and relevance. Reviewers must review fairly, respect confidentiality, and avoid using any confidential information for personal advantage. If a reviewer or editor suspects misconduct, they should inform the Editor-in-Chief with clear reasons and evidence where possible.
How IJABF Handles Concerns, Complaints, and Appeals
Concerns may be raised by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, or institutions. IJABF will review credible reports and may request supporting evidence. The journal may contact the authors for an explanation and, when needed, may contact the author’s institution or other relevant bodies for an independent assessment. Authors may request clarification of an editorial decision and may submit an appeal if they believe a decision was based on a serious misunderstanding or a clear procedural problem. Appeals must be respectful and supported by specific points. The Editor-in-Chief will consider the appeal and may seek additional editorial advice. An appeal does not guarantee that a decision will change.
Post-Publication Support
IJABF takes post-publication issues seriously and will act when needed to protect the scholarly record. If a published article contains an error that affects clarity or accuracy, IJABF may publish a correction notice (erratum or corrigendum). Corrections are linked to the original article so readers can understand the changes. For serious problems, such as unreliable findings, major plagiarism, unethical research, or confirmed misconduct, IJABF may retract the article. In situations where an investigation is ongoing but there are strong reasons to alert readers, IJABF may publish an expression of concern. Any retraction or expression of concern will clearly explain the reason, as far as legally possible. When corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions occur, IJABF will update the online record and will notify indexing and abstracting services where feasible. Readers may contact the editorial office to report concerns or request clarification, and all credible reports will be reviewed.
Journal Publisher / Contact
International Journal of Accounting and Business Finance (IJABF) is published by the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. For questions about publication ethics, peer review integrity, editorial procedures, or post-publication actions, please contact the editorial office through the official journal email address at ijabf@univ.jfn.ac.