Journal profile · BUSINESS, FINANCE
South African Journal of Accounting Research
ISSN 1029-1954 · eISSN 2376-3981 · Taylor & Francis
South African Journal of Accounting Research: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.7 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 266 days to acceptance (19 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 4% (journal website); 10 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
South African Journal of Accounting Research is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Auditing, Earnings Management, Governance, Financial Reporting and Valuation Research and Corporate Finance and Governance, together about 38.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Accounting. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The South African Journal of Accounting Research (SAJAR) publishes peer-reviewed original research papers, notes and commentaries that address issues relevant to accounting academics and professional accountants in Southern Africa and elsewhere. This includes areas of interest in the study and practice of financial accounting, auditing, taxation, financial management, management accounting, finance, ethics and information systems. Research papers should be analytical and contribute to knowledge in the field. They may be empirically-based (including survey and case study methods) or review- and theoretically-based. Notes and commentaries should meet all the criteria for good quality research, however, their interest and topicality may compensate for a less rigorous pursuit of the research problem. Notes and commentaries would typically be shorter than research papers. To provide a balanced presentation, contributions are welcomed from the fields mentioned above and from related areas, such as environmental accounting, corporate law, corporate governance and accounting education. These fields may be approached from a wide variety of perspectives, such as the behavioural, technological, institutional, organisational, regulatory, societal, educational or environmental. Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are sent for evaluation based on the double anonymized peer-review procedure.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): BUSINESS, FINANCE
Editor-in-chief Soon NelPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 8, United Kingdom 3, Türkiye 1 (12 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Auditing, Earnings Management, GovernanceBusiness, Management and Accounting14.8%
- Financial Reporting and Valuation ResearchBusiness, Management and Accounting12.7%
- Corporate Finance and GovernanceBusiness, Management and Accounting11.2%
- Accounting Education and CareersBusiness, Management and Accounting7.4%
- Corporate Taxation and AvoidanceBusiness, Management and Accounting5.8%
- Financial Markets and Investment StrategiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.5%
- Taxation and Compliance StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.6%
- Taxation and Legal IssuesBusiness, Management and Accounting4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Business, Finance | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Business, Finance | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: Chartered Association of Business Schools UK (ABS Guide), Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC List)
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.38LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.38Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.88LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.88Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 25OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 79OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.24OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 16.67%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 9LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 46,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 291 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11 | 9 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 7 | 18 |
| 2024 | 20 | 12 | 115 |
| 2023 | 8 | 1 | 66 |
| 2022 | 9 | 1 | 57 |
| 2021 | 14 | 2 | 166 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
266 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 216 days – 352 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 56 days (19 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 330 days
- Sample
- 19 articles with submission and acceptance dates (20 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 4%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted3
- commentariespublishes peer-reviewed original research papers, notes and commentariesLength not stated
- notespublishes peer-reviewed original research papers, notes and commentariesLength not stated
- research paperspublishes peer-reviewed original research papers, notes and commentariesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
South African Journal of Accounting Research is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are sent for evaluation based on the double anonymized peer-review procedure.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1029-1954
- Electronic ISSN
- 2376-3981
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 40, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about South African Journal of Accounting Research
What CAS zone is South African Journal of Accounting Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, South African Journal of Accounting Research is in Zone 4 of Management, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Business, Finance. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of South African Journal of Accounting Research?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.7 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 25.
How long does peer review take at South African Journal of Accounting Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 19 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 266 days (interquartile range 216–352 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 4%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of South African Journal of Accounting Research based?
Of the 12 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (8), United Kingdom (3) and Türkiye (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index South African Journal of Accounting Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, South African Journal of Accounting Research is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is South African Journal of Accounting Research open access, and what is the APC?
South African Journal of Accounting Research is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .