Publication Ethics Statement
- Mission and Integrity
CPA Publisher advances the CPA profession through the open, peer-reviewed exchange of practical knowledge. The publication adheres to professional and ethical standards that safeguard accuracy, fairness, and transparency in all stages of review and publication. - Editorial Independence
The Editorial Advisory Board provides strategic oversight and independent judgment on editorial direction, emerging topics, and community engagement (see Editorial Advisory Board – What’s Expected, p. 1). Board members are selected for subject-matter expertise and professional integrity (Editorial Review Board Guidelines). - Peer Review Process
All manuscripts undergo a single- or double- blind peer review in which authors and reviewers remain anonymous. Reviewers are assigned based on expertise and absence of conflicts of interest, evaluate technical accuracy, clarity, relevance, and citation compliance, and provide constructive feedback using the Content Review Certification Form (Blind Review Policy). - Authorship and Originality
Authors must submit original work that has not been published elsewhere. Submissions containing plagiarism, fabrication, or undisclosed conflicts of interest are rejected. Authors are expected to disclose funding sources or relationships that may influence interpretation. - Corrections, Errata, and Retractions
CPA Publisher maintains a structured procedure for identifying and correcting errors (Errata Policy). Minor corrections are annotated in the article; substantive errors result in a published Erratum; and major errors may lead to withdrawal or formal retraction. All corrections are timestamped and archived for transparency. - Complaints and Appeals
Authors and readers may raise concerns or request reconsideration of editorial decisions. The Editorial Advisory Board reviews such matters during scheduled meetings or on an ad-hoc basis, ensuring an impartial response consistent with professional standards. - Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers and Editors
Reviewers and editors must treat manuscripts as confidential, avoid using unpublished data for personal advantage, and recuse themselves where conflicts of interest arise. The editorial team ensures the blind-review process is applied uniformly and ethically (Blind Review Policy “Responsibilities,”). - Data Integrity and Transparency
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of data, citations, and analyses. Articles presenting empirical work must identify data sources and methods clearly enough for replication. - Frequency and Accessibility
CPA Publisher issues new content on a predictable cycle (four articles every two months) and maintains access to published articles via www.cpapublisher.com. - Compliance and Oversight
All editorial policies are reviewed annually by the Publisher and Advisory Board. Updates are timestamped with effective and revision dates.
For questions regarding this statement or ethical concerns, contact the publisher at publisher /a/t cpapublisher.com
(Adopted 2025)
Publication Malpractice Policy
CPA Publisher is committed to maintaining the integrity, independence, and credibility of its publication process. This Publication Malpractice Policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and the publisher. The purpose of this policy is to prevent, identify, and respond to publication misconduct, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, undisclosed conflicts of interest, manipulation of the peer review process, inaccurate authorship, and other practices that may compromise the quality or reliability of published work.
1. Editorial Independence and Responsibility
Editorial decisions are made based on the relevance, originality, accuracy, clarity, and professional value of submitted articles. Decisions are not based on the author’s employment, institutional affiliation, professional status, personal relationships, advertising relationships, sponsorships, or other improper considerations.
Editors are responsible for ensuring that submissions are reviewed fairly and consistently. Editors must take reasonable steps to identify potential misconduct before publication and must respond appropriately when concerns are raised after publication.
2. Author Responsibilities
Authors are responsible for submitting work that is original, accurate, properly sourced, and not under consideration by another publication unless disclosed and approved in advance.
Authors must:
- Submit only work that they have written or substantially contributed to.
- Properly cite sources, quotations, data, standards, laws, regulations, professional guidance, and third-party materials.
- Avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, and misleading paraphrasing.
- Disclose whether artificial intelligence tools were used materially in drafting, researching, editing, or developing the article.
- Disclose all actual or potential conflicts of interest.
- Obtain permission for any copyrighted material used in the article.
- Promptly notify CPA Publisher if they discover a material error in a submitted or published article.
Authorship should be limited to individuals who made a meaningful intellectual contribution to the article. Guest authorship, honorary authorship, and ghost authorship are not permitted.
3. Reviewer Responsibilities
Reviewers are expected to provide fair, objective, timely, and constructive reviews. Reviewers must evaluate the article based on its substance and professional merit.
Reviewers must:
- Maintain confidentiality of the manuscript and review process.
- Decline review assignments where they have a conflict of interest.
- Avoid using unpublished material for personal, professional, or commercial benefit.
- Identify suspected plagiarism, unsupported claims, material omissions, or other concerns.
- Provide feedback respectfully and without personal criticism of the author.
Reviewers may not contact authors directly about a submission unless authorized by CPA Publisher.
4. Conflicts of Interest
Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members must disclose any financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships that could reasonably be perceived to affect the publication process.
Examples include:
- Employment or consulting relationships connected to the subject matter.
- Financial interests in companies, products, services, or positions discussed in the article.
- Prior or current professional relationships with the author, reviewer, editor, or subject of the article.
- Advocacy positions that may materially affect objectivity.
Disclosure of a conflict does not automatically disqualify participation. However, undisclosed conflicts may result in rejection, correction, retraction, reviewer removal, or other appropriate action.
5. Peer Review Integrity
CPA Publisher uses peer review to improve article quality and support editorial decision-making. Any attempt to manipulate the review process is prohibited.
Peer review misconduct includes:
- Submitting false reviewer identities.
- Suggesting reviewers with undisclosed conflicts.
- Attempting to influence reviewers outside the normal editorial process.
- Sharing confidential reviewer comments without authorization.
- Misrepresenting the status or outcome of peer review.
Where peer review manipulation is suspected, CPA Publisher may suspend review, reject the submission, remove the reviewer, notify relevant parties, or take other corrective action.
6. Plagiarism, Duplicate Publication, and Misrepresentation
CPA Publisher does not permit plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, or material misrepresentation.
Misconduct may include:
- Copying text, analysis, structure, or conclusions without proper attribution.
- Submitting substantially similar work to multiple publications without disclosure.
- Recycling prior work without appropriate citation or notice.
- Fabricating facts, examples, citations, data, credentials, or professional experience.
- Misstating laws, standards, rules, or professional guidance in a way that materially misleads readers.
CPA Publisher may use plagiarism detection, editorial review, source checking, author inquiries, or outside review to evaluate suspected misconduct.
7. Use of Artificial Intelligence
Authors must disclose material use of artificial intelligence tools in preparing a submission. AI tools may assist with drafting, editing, summarizing, research organization, or grammar review, but they may not be listed as authors.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, citations, analysis, and conclusions of their work. Authors must verify any AI-assisted content, including citations, quotations, legal references, professional standards, and factual claims.
Undisclosed or irresponsible use of AI, including fabricated citations, false authorities, inaccurate summaries, or unattributed AI-generated text, may be treated as publication misconduct.
8. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
CPA Publisher will take reasonable action when a published article contains a material error or when credible concerns are raised about publication misconduct.
Depending on the circumstances, CPA Publisher may issue:
- A correction for an error that does not invalidate the overall article.
- An editor’s note where clarification is appropriate.
- An expression of concern where serious questions remain unresolved.
- A retraction where the article is materially unreliable, plagiarized, improperly published, or affected by serious misconduct.
Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern should be clearly identified and linked to the original article where practical. Retractions do not necessarily imply intent or bad faith unless the available facts support that conclusion.
9. Complaints and Allegations of Misconduct
Concerns about possible publication misconduct should be submitted in writing to CPA Publisher and should include the article title, author name, specific concern, supporting facts, and any relevant documentation.
CPA Publisher will review complaints in good faith. The review may include contacting the author, reviewer, editor, or other relevant parties. CPA Publisher may decline to act on unsupported, abusive, anonymous, or bad-faith complaints, but credible concerns will be evaluated regardless of the source.
10. Sanctions and Corrective Actions
If misconduct is found, CPA Publisher may take one or more of the following actions:
- Reject the submission.
- Require revision or additional disclosure.
- Remove the article from consideration.
- Publish a correction, editor’s note, expression of concern, or retraction.
- Decline future submissions from the author for a defined period.
- Remove a reviewer from the reviewer pool.
- Notify an author’s institution, employer, sponsor, or other appropriate party where warranted.
Corrective action will be proportionate to the nature, seriousness, and impact of the misconduct.
11. Publisher Responsibilities
CPA Publisher is responsible for maintaining transparent publication practices, protecting the integrity of the editorial process, and avoiding misleading claims about indexing, peer review, acceptance rates, publication timelines, fees, sponsorships, or editorial standards.
CPA Publisher will not guarantee publication in exchange for payment, advertising, sponsorship, membership, or professional relationship. Any fees, if applicable, will be clearly disclosed. Advertising, sponsorship, and commercial relationships will not control editorial decisions.
12. Recordkeeping and Confidentiality
CPA Publisher will maintain reasonable records of submissions, reviews, editorial decisions, author communications, disclosures, complaints, and corrective actions. Confidential materials will be shared only with individuals who have a legitimate role in the editorial or misconduct review process.
13. Policy Review
This policy may be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect developments in publication standards, peer review practices, professional publishing expectations, and applicable ethical guidance.
Adopted June 2026
Errata Policy
At CPA Publisher (“the Publisher”), we are committed to upholding accuracy, transparency, and editorial integrity in our online publication. While all articles undergo editorial and peer review, we recognize that occasional errors may persist in the published version. This policy outlines how such errors are identified, reviewed, and addressed after publication.
1. Scope of Errata
Errata include factual inaccuracies, typographical errors, formatting issues, or omissions that may impact the clarity, interpretation, or reliability of a published article. These include:
- Incorrect numerical data, citations, or references
- Errors in analysis, charts, or tables
- Typographical mistakes that alter meaning
- Misstatements of fact
- Errors in author attribution
2. Submitting a Correction Request
Authors, readers, and reviewers are encouraged to notify the editorial team of any potential errors by emailing publisher@cpapublisher.com with the subject line “Errata Notice.” Submissions should include:
- Article title and date of publication
- URL and unique identifier (YYYY-XX format)
- A clear description of the error and its location within the article
- Supporting documentation or proposed correction, if available
3. Review Process
Each erratum submission will be reviewed by the editorial team in consultation with the original author(s) and, where applicable, peer reviewers. The severity and implications of the error will determine the corrective action.
4. Correction Categories
- Minor Corrections: Spelling, grammatical, or formatting errors that do not affect substance will be corrected in the online article. A note at the bottom of the article will state: “Corrected on [date].”
- Substantive Corrections (Erratum): Errors that affect the interpretation of data, analysis, or conclusions will result in a published Erratum, prominently linked to the original article. Substantive Correction may be also considered Major Corrections, as discussed herein.
- Major Corrections: Errors that raise doubts about the article’s overall reliability may prompt a re-evaluation of the article. At the discretion of the editorial board, this may lead to:
- Temporary withdrawal of the article
- Request for resubmission with substantial revisions
- Formal Retraction if the article no longer meets publication standards
5. Editorial Discretion and Author Notification
All decisions regarding corrections or retractions rest with the editorial board. Authors will be consulted and notified prior to any public correction or withdrawal and may be invited to respond or revise.
6. Transparency and Archiving
All corrections, errata, and retractions will be timestamped and archived on the article’s web page. Prior versions of substantially corrected articles may be retained for reference where appropriate.
7. Ongoing Quality Assurance
We welcome error submissions as part of our commitment to editorial accountability and professional rigor. Readers, authors, and reviewers are vital participants in maintaining the integrity of our published work.
Effective: Feb. 9, 2025
Change Log:
June 1, 2025: Added trademark