This statement clarifies the ethical behaviour of all parties involved in publishing an article in the Asian Journal of Accounting Perspectives (AJAP). The publication ethics document documented in this journal is based on the Ethical Code of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

A. Ethical Guideline for Journal Publication Ethics

  1. The Faculty of Business & Accountancy, Universiti Malaya, as the publisher of the AJAP, takes its duties of guardianship over all stages of publishing with extreme seriousness. It recognises its ethical responsibilities towards the act of publishing.
  2. It is important to agree upon the standards of expected ethical behaviour for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher and the society.
  3. The editors of the AJAP are responsible for the final decision in accepting the manuscripts. The editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making such a decision.
  4. The editors of the AJAP may at any time evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of authors.
  5. The editors of the AJAP may be guided by the journal's editorial board's policies and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

B. Duties of Authors

  1. Authors should ensure that the reports of the research contained in their manuscripts are original.  
  2. Authors should present an accurate account of the research conducted and an objective discussion of its significance.
  3. Authors should not publish manuscripts describing the same research in more than one journal or primary publications such as newspapers or magazines.
  4. Authors should ensure that the same manuscript has not been concurrently submitted to another journal. This publishing behaviour is deemed unethical and unacceptable.
  5. Authors should disclose, in their manuscript, any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
  6. Authors should ensure that the manuscript contains sufficient details and references to permit others to replicate their work.
  7. Authors should refrain from using fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements in their manuscripts. This constitutes unethical behaviour and is unacceptable.
  8. Authors should ensure that the work and/or words used or borrowed from other authors or researchers are appropriately cited or quoted.
  9. Authors should disclose all sources of financial support for the project discussed in the manuscript.
  10. It is the author’s obligation to notify the journal editor or publisher promptly and to cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper upon discovering a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work.

C. Duties of Reviewer

  1. Reviewers are appointed based on their expertise and experience.
  2. Appointed reviewers are given between two to four weeks to review the manuscript. However, extended time may be given should reviewers require more time.
  3. Appointed reviewers are required to evaluate the feasibility and credibility of the manuscript before it is published or otherwise in the AJAP.
  4. Reviewers are responsible for the duty to give detailed comments and constructive suggestions on the manuscript reviewed by filling in the
  5. Reviewer’s Evaluation Report.

D. Malpractice and Copyright Transfer

  1. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that the submitted manuscript (i.e., content, figures, tables, photos, data, appendices and all other information) are from reliable sources, and there is no breach of copyright transfer. Any claim from a third party for a paper published in the AJAP is the author's sole responsibility.
  2. The editors of the AJAP are responsible for ensuring that the submitted manuscript undergoes proper screening for plagiarism.
  3. The editors of the AJAP are responsible for the private and confidential information of authors before publication.
  4. All published manuscripts do not represent the AJAP or the Faculty of Business & Accountancy, University of Malaya.
  5. Upon any ethical complaint received about any manuscript published in the AJAP, a proper and fair investigation shall be proceeded, without any special treatment to the authors concerned.