Editorial Policies

Our commitment to quality, integrity, and ethical publishing

Focus & Scope

Scope and Focus Areas:

  • Smart accounting systems and digital transformation
  • AI-driven auditing, fraud detection, and predictive financial analytics
  • Blockchain applications in auditing, reporting, smart contracts, transparent ledgers, and supply chain finance
  • Machine learning models for credit risk assessment, portfolio optimization, and algorithmic trading
  • FinTech innovations including digital payments, robo-advisors, and decentralized finance (DeFi)
  • Financial data analytics and business intelligence
  • Data governance, cybersecurity frameworks, and ethical AI implementation in financial reporting
  • Regulatory technology (RegTech) and compliance automation solutions
  • Automation in bookkeeping and financial processes
  • Technology-driven financial forecasting and performance management
  • Financial Technology, Green Finance, Financial Sustainability, Financial Inclusion, Finance and Banking Science, Risk Management, and Compliance.

Publication Frequency

bi-annual

Peer Review Policy

Peer Review Policy

Journal of Smart Accounting and Financial Technologies

1. Review Type

JSAFT employs a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure objectivity and quality. Author identities remain anonymous to reviewers throughout the evaluation.

2. Submission Screening

  • All manuscripts undergo initial editorial screening for scope fit, originality, and formatting compliance.
  • Desk rejection (within 7 days) for out-of-scope submissions or plagiarism concerns.

3. Reviewer Assignment

  • Editor assigns 2-3 independent reviewers with domain expertise (AI/FinTech/accounting).
  • Conflicts of interest declared (co-authorship, institutional affiliation, personal relationships).
  • Reviewers blinded to author details; authors blinded to reviewer identities.

4. Review Criteria

Reviewers evaluate based on:

  • Significance: Advances theory/practice in smart accounting/financial technologies
  • Originality: Novel contribution to AI, blockchain, analytics literature
  • Methodology: Rigorous research design, data validity
  • Clarity: Well-structured, accessible writing
  • Impact: Relevance to academics/practitioners/regulators

5. Review Timeline

  • First decision: 6-8 weeks
  • Revisions: Authors respond within 4 weeks
  • Final decision: 12-16 weeks total

6. Decision Categories

  • Accept (rare at first round)
  • Minor/Major Revisions (most common)
  • Reject & Resubmit
  • Reject

7. Revision Process

Authors submit point-by-point responses to reviewer comments alongside revised manuscript. Same reviewers (where possible) re-evaluate revisions.

8. Final Acceptance

Editor makes final decision based on reviewer recommendations. Accepted papers undergo copyediting, author proofreading, and formatting before publication.

9. Ethical Standards

  • Plagiarism checked via Turnitin (≤15% similarity allowed)
  • Data fabrication/falsification grounds for rejection/retraction
  • AI tools in writing must be disclosed; AI-generated content not accepted

10. Reviewer Guidelines

Reviewers commit to:

  • 3-week review turnaround
  • Constructive, unbiased feedback
  • Confidentiality of submitted materials
  • Declaring conflicts of interest

Appeals: Limited to procedural errors only, submitted to Editor-in-Chief within 14 days of rejection.

This policy ensures scholarly integrity while delivering timely, high-quality publications to advance smart financial technologies

Open Access Policy

1. Open Access Commitment

JSAFT provides immediate open access to all articles under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). All content is freely available online immediately upon publication, without embargo periods.

2. No Reader Barriers

  • No subscription fees or paywalls
  • No login requirements
  • Full-text PDF downloads available worldwide
  • Permanent archiving for long-term accessibility

3. Article Processing Charges (APC)

  • No APC for authors (diamond open access model)
  • Publication funded through institutional support and sponsorships
  • No submission fees or hidden charges

4. Author Rights

Authors retain copyright and publishing rights under CC BY 4.0:

  • Share, adapt, and distribute their work (including commercially)
  • Receive recognition as original creators
  • Deposit articles in institutional repositories

5. Usage Permissions

Readers may:

  • Read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to full texts
  • Use for teaching, learning, and research
  • Create derivative works with proper attribution

6. Self-Archiving Policy

Authors may deposit:

  • Preprint: Anytime, anywhere
  • Accepted manuscript: Immediately upon acceptance
  • Publisher's version: Immediately upon publication

7. Data Sharing

JSAFT encourages authors to:

  • Deposit research data in public repositories
  • Include data availability statements
  • Share code and supplementary materials

8. Indexing & Discoverability

Articles indexed in major services including:

  • Google Scholar, DOAJ, EBSCO, ProQuest
  • Applications pending: Scopus, Web of Science

9. Preservation

  • Digital archiving via PKP Preservation Network (LOCKSS)
  • Institutional repository partnerships

Benefits of JSAFT Open Access:

Global reach - Maximizes citations and impact

Zero cost - Free to publish and read

Author control - Retain copyright

Compliance - Meets funder/institutional OA mandates


JSAFT's diamond open access model ensures research reaches practitioners, policymakers, and academics worldwide without financial barriers, accelerating innovation in smart accounting and financial technologies.

Copyright Notice

Copyright Ownership
Authors retain the copyright of their original works published in JSAFT. Upon acceptance, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive worldwide license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and archive the article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

CC BY 4.0 License Terms
Published articles may be freely:

Shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format)

Adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon for any purpose, including commercially)

With the following conditions:

Attribution: Appropriate credit must be given to the original author(s), a link to the license provided, and indication of changes made (if any).

No additional restrictions: Users may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Author Rights Retained

Copyright ownership

Right to share preprints/postprints anytime

Right to use in teaching, presentations, or institutional repositories

Right to create derivative works with proper citation

Journal Rights

First right of publication

Right to distribute under CC BY 4.0

Right to archive in perpetuity

Right to index and promote articles

Permissions for Third Parties
No additional permission required for:

Non-commercial educational use

Scholarly citations

Personal research/reference

Commercial Reuse
Contact authors directly for commercial licensing beyond CC BY 4.0 terms.

Prohibited Uses

Removing attribution

Misrepresenting original content

Illegal redistribution

All articles published before obtaining ISSN/DOI remain under identical copyright terms. JSAFT ensures maximum dissemination while protecting author rights

Privacy Statement

Privacy Statement

Journal of Smart Accounting and Financial Technologies

1. Information Collected

JSAFT collects only essential information voluntarily provided by users:

  • Names, affiliations, email addresses, and institutional details (during submission/registration)
  • ORCID iD, manuscript metadata, and reviewer preferences (optional)
  • Usage analytics (non-personal: page views, downloads, referral sources)

2. Purpose of Collection

Personal data used exclusively for:

  • Manuscript submission, peer review, and publication workflow
  • Editorial correspondence and reviewer assignments
  • Journal notifications (new issues, calls for papers)
  • Website functionality and improvement

3. Data Sharing

  • Never shared with third parties for commercial purposes
  • Editorial team access limited to workflow needs only
  • Aggregated, anonymized statistics shared in annual reports

4. Cookies & Tracking

  • Session cookies for login/manuscript tracking only
  • No advertising cookies or cross-site trackers
  • Google Analytics (anonymized IP addresses) for usage insights
  • Users may disable cookies via browser settings

5. Data Storage & Security

  • Hosted on secure, encrypted servers
  • Regular backups with access controls
  • Password-protected author/reviewer portals
  • Data retention: 5 years post-publication (or until deletion request)

6. Author & Reviewer Rights

  • Access: View your submission/review history anytime
  • Correction: Update personal details via profile
  • Deletion: Request account/manuscript data removal
  • Objection: Opt-out of journal communications

7. Reviewer Anonymity

Reviewer identities protected throughout process. Review comments confidential unless explicitly waived.

8. GDPR Compliance

JSAFT complies with EU GDPR and equivalent global standards. EU authors/reviewers receive explicit data processing consent forms.

9. Children Under 16

Journal does not knowingly collect data from minors. Content intended for academic/professional audiences.

10. Policy Updates

Changes communicated via homepage and email (30-day notice). Continued use constitutes acceptance.