We usually begin our blog posts with a customary disclaimer that our columnists only speak for themselves, and do not express the positions of the AAA or of any other party.
This post, however, is different. Our columnist Amy Hageman does speak for us! She is the incoming Senior Editor of our section's flagship journal Accounting and the Public Interest (API).
We are delighted to introduce her to our members with this blog post. Welcome, Amy, to your new role. And thank you for your contribution to our Section!
My name is Amy Hageman, and I have the honor and privilege of serving as the Senior Editor of Accounting and the Public Interest (API) for a three-year term, beginning in January 2019 through 2021. API has a rich history of excellent Editors, and currently has an outstanding group of Associate Editors and Editorial Board members. This journal serves an important role in our field – as it is an American Accounting Association (AAA) section journal focusing on socially responsible accounting research. The journal has a history of publishing work from leading accounting academics – and I believe this trend will continue as universities’ emphasis on showing how accounting research positively impacts society continues to grow. I am excited to take on the role of Senior Editor of API, as I want to positively influence the future of this journal by increasing its presence, quality, and efficiency, and in helping to establish API as one of the top specialty accounting journals in the field.
Currently, my primary objective is to build on and expand the tradition of excellent scholarship published by this journal, as well as enhancing the efficient administration of API. One of my aims is to provide guidance to submitting authors to enhance the quality and contribution of their work, as well as working across other AAA sections to identity potential submissions that could further our understanding of how accounting affects the public interest. In short, I am striving to continue the tradition at API of aiming to publish articles across a wide variety of functional areas of accounting using an equally-wide array of methodologies.
These are several opportunities to improve the impact of API. A long-term goal is to see an increase in citations of published articles in API, and for more universities to positively evaluate API in making promotion and tenure decisions. One strategy for potentially increasing the journal’s impact is to consider publishing special issues, which have the potential to increase both readership and citations. One possible idea would be a special issue dedicated to a specific theme. Potential themes could include professional and business ethics, governance of accounting organizations, social and environmental accounting trends, or responsible actions by governmental and non-profit accounting entities. Another possibility would be to devote a special issue to increasing the journal’s impact beyond the United States – such as a special issue on U.S.-Canadian issues, or on accounting issues that are emerging in Europe. Such a special issue may be a way of reaching contributors who may not have submitted to API in the past. Another is to potentially hold a special conference tied to the journal.
Overall, API is an outstanding journal with a rich history and an even brighter future. As I begin my three-year Editor term, my goal is to strive to act as an excellent steward of this journal and to work to further improve both the quality and overall impact of API. Thank you for entrusting me with this role, and I look forward to working together to disseminate public interest-related research in API.