Statement from the Editor-Elect
Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory

W. Robert Knechel
February 2011

I am honored to have been selected as the next Editor of Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. I would like to take this opportunity to share some thoughts on my philosophy for the journal, challenging issues that we will have to address during my term, and to announce some initiatives we will be undertaking. First, I would like to acknowledge the excellent job that the current Editor, Ken Trotman, and the outgoing Associate Editors, Michael Bamber, Jean Bedard, Chris Hogan and Clive Lennox, have done during the past three years. During Ken's term, the impact factor for the journal has risen to over 0.90 and he leaves me with an excellent pipeline of in-process manuscripts. I certainly hope that my team can keep this momentum going over the next few years.

Officially, I will take over the reins from Ken on June 30. At that time, I will put in place a new team of Associate Editors. The following individuals have kindly agreed to serve as Associate Editors for the term:

Beginning in early April, I will be formally contacting individuals concerning their willingness to serve on the Editorial Board. If I have already spoken to you informally, you will receive a formal invitation in April.

Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory has reached an important stage in its development. It is generally considered to be the top journal dedicated to auditing research and has a stable and sustained flow of high quality submissions. Moving forward, the challenge for the Journal is to sustain the existing momentum while adjusting to changes in the publishing environment. Two important steps in that direction have already been started: (1) the move to four issues a year and (2) the decision to adopt an online submission process. In addition, I believe that we have three main challenges to address:

• Increase the quality and quantity of submissions to the journal.
• Increase the visibility and acceptance of the journal within the research community, particularly among non-audit researchers.
• Improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of the submission process.

These objectives are highly inter-related and future progress will probably require that they be addressed simultaneously. They become particularly important in the near future as we transition to four issues a year. To successfully expand the journal, we need to increase the volume of high quality submissions. Further, more papers means more reviewing and editorial resources will be consumed. Consequently, the strategic decision to expand the journal creates some immediate challenges for the Section and the editorial team. On the other hand, expanding the journal also has the potential to increase its visibility, acceptance beyond the boundaries of auditing, and impact on broader academic research.

The new editorial team will be undertaking a number of initiatives related to these objectives. To increase the pool of submissions, we are proposing to publish a series of Research Forums on selected topics. Each forum would constitute 4 to 6 papers on a specific topic (about half of an issue) linked by an overview article. The first three proposed Research Forums are described at the end of this note below and will address:

• Conservatism in Auditing
• Research on Environmental Assurance and Auditing
• Qualitative Research in Auditing

In all three cases, submission deadlines are in late 2012 so authors should have time to develop appropriate projects if they are interested.

I also expect to commission a handful of papers on current topics by top scholars in our field. Further, I propose to expand the types of papers published in the journal beyond our traditional pool of empirical, archival and experimental research. To signal that the journal is happy to consider theory papers, normative modeling, or qualitative research, I will be appointing individuals to the Editorial Board that have done high quality research in those areas. I believe that a commitment to diverse and rigorous research, regardless of the methodology, will increase the visibility of the journal.

The introduction of the on-line submission system will help with the editorial process. We expect to go "live" with the system on June 30. Please keep this date in mind if you intend to submit papers around the time of the editorial transition. Given the likelihood of glitches in the transition, I ask all participants in the publication process to be patient as we work out the bugs.

Refereeing papers is a critical activity in academic life but one that receives very little "glory". I feel we can show greater appreciation to our hardworking and highly qualified reviewers so I will be proposing to the leadership of the Auditing Section that we institute an award to be given at the Midyear Meeting for exemplary editorial service to the journal.

To close, the three main challenges facing the journal are (1) improving the quality of submissions, (2) expanding the visibility and acceptance of the journal, and (3) efficiently husbanding editorial and reviewing resources. While challenging, improvements in one area can start a positive feedback loop that lead to improvements in other areas, facilitating progress on all three goals. I expect to have significant discussions with the editorial team, the Section leadership and the members of the Auditing Section as we wrestle with these issues going forward. I thank the Section for this opportunity and the membership for their support in this process.

Calls for Papers: Research Forum on Conservatism in Auditing
The purpose of this Forum is to encourage research on the topic of conservatism in auditing. Submissions are invited that focus on "conservatism" versus "accuracy" as well as the causes and effects of this potential bias. Submitted papers may address a variety of research questions related to this topic and may use any method that appropriately addresses these questions. Some illustrative examples of potential research questions are listed below, although other related topics will be considered:

• Will audit quality improve or decline with financial reporting standards that focus on accurate rather than conservative reporting?
• Should the audit report change such that it indicates how conservative, versus aggressive, the registrant's reporting is?
• How will auditors' incentives change under financial reporting standards that focus on accurate rather than conservative reporting?
• Does a conservative bias benefit some financial statement users over others?

Submissions to this Research Forum will be handled by Rick Hatfield (University of Alabama) and Kathryn Kadous (Emory University). Initial submissions should be received by September 1, 2012 and will be subject to the normal review process of Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory.

Call for Papers: Research Forum on Research on Environmental Assurance and Auditing
The purpose of this Forum is to encourage research on environmental assurance and auditing issues. The unifying theme of the Forum is the focus on the environment and we are open to multiple research methods which address relevant topics. Specifically, we would like to encourage multi-disciplinary research related to reporting on GhG (greenhouse gas) metrics, experimental work that is aimed at improving the quality of decision-making for these engagements and ethnographic research on these types of engagements that gives insight into the effect of these assurance services on potential stakeholders. We would like to also encourage archival work that examines the factors that enhance the likelihood and effectiveness of these types of engagements. Note: papers that simply examine CSR or the Carbon Disclosure project on a country-specific basis will be of less interest to this Forum. Some illustrative research questions that would be appropriate for the Forum include:

• Does assurance influence the quality and reliability of CSR/Environmental disclosures?
• Does assurance related to CSR provide substantive value to stakeholders?
• What is the nature of auditor specialization related to "green" auditing?
• How do financial analysts and investors view assurance related to CSR? Does such assurance influence their investment judgments?
• What is the nature of a "green" audit?
• How does the engagement team form a "green" audit opinion?

Submissions to this Research Forum will be handled by Jeff Cohen (Boston College) and Roger Simnett (University of New South Wales). Initial submissions should be received by November 1, 2012 and will be subject to the normal review process of Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory.

Call for Papers: Research Forum on Qualitative Studies in Auditing
The purpose of this Forum is to encourage research that delves into the black box of auditing and to develop a richer understanding of the audit process and the nature of auditor work in either the public or private sector. We encourage submission of qualitative analyses grounded in a variety of established approaches. More specifically, we invite studies of auditing in concrete organizational settings which draw on established empirical and theoretical research traditions, such as anthropology, ethnography and organizational sociology. Such studies will be an important complement to existing experimental and archival work on auditing. Potential examples of the type of research questions we would like to consider include:

• Auditor-client interactions as key accounting sign-off issues are debated.
• Audit tender process and firm/auditor behavior.
• The nature of the dynamic relationship between audit committees and auditors, both internal and external.
• The nature of standard-setting and its impact on auditor processes and behavior.

Submissions to this Research Forum will be handled by Yves Gendron (Université Laval) and Michael Power (London School of Economics and Political Science). Initial submissions should be received by October 1, 2012 and will be subject to the normal review process of Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory.