Call for papers Special Issue of
Journal of Accounting and Public Policy
Call for Papers 2024
Special Issue of Journal of Accounting and Public Policy
Professional judgment in accounting and auditing decisions
The increasingly complexity of the worldwide business environment requires that firms provide information via financial statements and disclosures that are significant and relevant to a wide range of decision makers. Accounting and auditing professionals are the main actors called to guarantee that the information provided is useful to both existing and potential users. However, the contribution of accounting and auditing professionals to the creation of the information and its audit requires subjective professional judgment.
Accounting professionals make judgements when recognizing and measuring transactions, as well as when they select what information to disclose, how to report it, and the level of aggregation. There needs to be adequate detail for the information to be useful, but information overload must be considered.
Auditors make professional and ethical judgments when assessing the accuracy of the information and the disclosures. They need to consider the application of accounting principles, rules and standards as well as interpret relevant ethical requirements.
The use of professional judgment is more intuitive in settings like interpretations of standards, risk assessment, and the definition of accounting and auditing procedures. A critical area of professional judgment in accounting and auditing is to ascertain materiality. This concept is key to improving the decision usefulness of corporate reporting based on the target audience. Establishing whether accounting information is material is a matter of judgement and a range of factors and circumstances, including both quantitative and qualitative factors, as well as the nature of the information reported.
From an accounting perspective, the question is not only whether an information item is material, but how it becomes material, with consideration of the social context within which a firm operates. From an auditing perspective ascertaining materiality is a combination of tasks and interpersonal interactions which covers each phase of the audit process.
Overall, the application of professional judgment in accounting and auditing processes is significant and of utmost importance to many constituents, hence it needs to be clarified. This includes enhancing our understanding of the requirements, attitudes, parameters, procedures and factors that influence professional judgment.
International accounting and auditing standards frequently remind us of the concept of professional judgment, although without clearly defining it. Despite such guidance, there is a wide variety of concepts and approaches (e.g. intuitive vs structured professional judgement).
There have been judgment-related studies published especially in the context of auditing, however the subject of professional judgments is still somewhat of a black box and further research is needed (e.g. Brown et al., 1993; Gao and Zhang, 2019).
In this special issue of the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy we invite scholars and researchers to submit papers exploring facets of "Professional judgments in accounting and auditing decisions".
This call is broadly defined to include research that addresses topics across all domains of accounting and auditing, covering a wide range of issues and processes related to the use of judgments, with a preference to the application of materiality.
Quantitative, qualitative, and theoretical research approaches may be employed, and authors are encouraged to draw on different theories to explore the rationality of professional judgment across alternative perspectives. Simulation and experimental methods are also encouraged.
Examples of topics that may be addressed include, but are not limited to:
- the impact of culture on the application of professional judgment
- the influence of regulation on professional judgment
- the ethical implications involved with professional judgment
- personal attitudes and types of professional judgment
- the perception of risk and professional judgment
- determinants of materiality judgments
- how professionals judge materiality in their decision-making process
- interplay between corporate governance and professional judgment
- interplay between approaches to corporate reporting and professional judgment
- the impact of professional judgment on business management
- judgements regarding the inclusion and measurement of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) information
Research could include aspects of the following:
- social construction;
- cultural theories;
- behavioral approaches;
- rationality in psychology and economics;
- decision making perceptions.
We call for original and unpublished research manuscripts across different theoretical backgrounds and settings. Manuscripts addressing financial reporting, sustainability reporting, governance, auditing, information systems, management accounting, enterprise risk management and social and environmental accounting and reporting, in the for-profit, public and non-profit sectors, are considered of relevant interest.
Guidelines for authors
Manuscripts should be submitted by 30th of April, 2024.
All submissions must adhere to the format and style guidelines of the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy. The review process for the special issue will consist of papers being subject to an initial review by the co-editors of the special issue and to blind reviews by two anonymous referees. The editor of the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy will have oversight of the final papers submitted.
The link to Journal of Accounting and Public Policy Special Issue call for papers is https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-accounting-and-public-policy/about/call-for-papers#professional-judgment-in-accounting-and-auditing-decisions
Papers for the special issue may be submitted through the
Editorial Manager electronic platform. You can access the platform through this link: