ISSN 1519-7077 printed version
ISSN 1808-057X online version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Scope and policy
• Manuscript form and preparation
• Submission of original manuscripts

Scope and research areas

RC&F publishes theoretical development papers and theoretical-empirical studies in Accounting, Controllership, Actuarial Sciences and Finance. The journal accepts research papers in different paradigms and using various research methods, provided that they are consistent and relevant for the development of these areas. Besides research papers, its main focus, traditional papers and manuscripts in other formats that can contribute to communicate new knowledge to the community are also published.

The publication focus is put in practice through these following areas:

• Controllership and management accounting

Research and studies on organizational planning and control measurement, information and support systems. Among the various themes of interest, this area addresses: Management accounting, Cost analysis and management, Controllership in private and service entities, Economic management, Theory of constraints, Tax planning and management, Logistics and control elements, Strategic planning and Budget control, Management control in organizations, Management information systems, Information technology and systems, Investment project assessment and sustainability, always from the Accounting perspective.

• Accounting for external users

Research and studies on accounting information identification, measurement and disclosure. The area includes: Accounting theory, Financial accounting, Standard convergence, Social balance sheet (Value added statement, Environment, Human resources), Intellectual capital, Governmental and third sector accounting, Independent auditing, Financial statement analysis, Disclosure of inflation effects, Tax accounting and Corporate governance.

• Markets: financial, credit and capital

Studies and research on the conceptual and/or empirical aspects of financial, credit and capital markets, as well as resource application from the perspective of past and/or projected business performance, provided that they are linked with accounting. The area includes: Auditing, Short and long-term corporate finance, Valuation, Risk management and Quantitative methods applied to financial accounting.

• Accounting, controllership, actuarial and financial education and research

Studies and research on models, methods, techniques and instruments aiming for the qualitative improvement of the entire teaching-learning process, as well as scientific research development in all Accountancy knowledge areas. The area includes: Higher education in Brazil/abroad and Accounting, finance and actuarial sciences, Accounting education, Global curriculum, Teaching and learning process, Learning styles and strategies, Education technology, Online education and Virtual collaborative models, Accounting epistemology, Graduate profile and evolution and Educational program assessment.

• Actuarial Sciences

Studies and research on models, methods, techniques and instruments aiming for the qualitative improvement of the entire teaching-learning process, as well as scientific research development in all Actuarial Sciences knowledge area. The area includes: Risk in general, Social security and Insurances.
In case of doubts about whether your papers fit into the research areas of RC&F, feel free to send a query letter to the Editor-In-Chief.
Target public

The target public of RC&F mainly comprises faculty members, researchers, professionals and students in accounting, finance and actuarial sciences.

Requisites

Unacceptable practices like plagiarism, publication in more than one journal, fraudulent use of data, non or improper attribution of co-authorship, among other unethical practices, will be treated by an ad hoc commission, preferably defined among scientific board members. When confirmed, such practices will entail the following consequences:

1. In case of previously checked publications: the publication will be withdrawn (through a bar written WITHDRAWN) and the research ethics procedure commission will define the period during which the involved authors will not be allowed to publish in the journal.
2. In case of manuscripts under analysis: the authors will be contacted, the manuscripts will be returned and the research ethics procedure commission will define the period during which the authors will not be allowed to publish in the journal.

Conflicts of interest must be disclosure for the Journal.

The commission will take into account the orientations in the RC&F Regimen and will incorporate the experiences of the COPE - Committee on Publication Ethics.

Guidelines for manuscript submission

1. Manuscripts are analyzed by at least two reviewers, using the double blind review system.

2. Papers are analyzed for scope (editorial line), depth and clarity of the presented idea, as well as accessibility to readers (faculty members, executives, graduate and undergraduate students and Accounting, Controllership, Actuarial Science and Finance experts).
It is very relevant that authors indicate what gap they want to address, the contribution of the paper, the applicability of the knowledge presented. These elements help the reviewers and editors in their assessment.

3. The manuscript should be original, i.e. it should not have been forwarded for publication to any other publication vehicle in Portuguese or any other language. In case the manuscript was previously disseminated in congress annals, indicate the event name and place.

4. The maximum number of authors is five. Upon publication, the list of authors will be disseminated in the other indicated upon submission.

5. Authors are fully and exclusively responsible for the contents. Copyright should be transferred to the Department of Accountancy and Actuarial Science at FEA/USP in advance.

6. Originals will be published in Portuguese and English. Papers will only be accepted if authors agree with the translation of their paper to English, or from English to Portuguese, to be provided for by RC&F with a view to publication in the same journal.

7. Exceptionally, studies written in Spanish can be accepted. In this case too, the translation of the paper too English will be provided.

8. Independently of the number of reviews, authors can only consider that their papers will be published after receiving the information that their manuscript HAS BEEN APPROVED.

9. Submissions that do not comply with established formal guidelines will be returned.

10. In case of review, the authors are expected to return the file with review marks, accompanied by a letter to the editor and reviewers, explaining the changes made.

Structure

As a general rule, manuscripts should be structured as follows:

• Title: the title, accompanied by its translation it English, should be short and sufficiently specific and descriptive.
• Resumo: should include the research problem, method and conclusions. No topic divisions, lists, pictures, tables, graphs, illustrations, equations and formulae, abbreviations, symbols or citations. Minimum 250 and maximum 300 words, in a single paragraph.
• Palavras-chave: in the same language as the main text, up to five of the best known descriptors in the area, separated by periods and ending with a period.
  Example: Palavras-chave: Ética. Códigos de Ética. Gestão.
• Abstract: English translation of the resumo.
• Keywords: Palavras-chave in English.
• Introduction.
• Development (identifying specific sub-sections).
• Conclusion.

Format:

• Maximum 32 pages, including References, in a software compatible with Microsoft Office 2000 or superior for Windows, as follows:
• Font: Times New Roman; size 12 (for texts) and 10 (for tables, figures and footnotes).
• Flush: justified for paragraphs, with a one-centimeter indentation on the first line.
• Spacing: double space for the text, including formulae; and simple for tables and figures.
• Page number: upper right corner.
• Margins: 2.5 cm (upper, lower, right and left).
• Paper size: A4 (21.0cm x 29.7cm).
• Abbreviations: upon the first occurrence in the text, the full version of the name should precede the abbreviation, placed between brackets.
  Example: Universidade de São Paulo (USP).
• Table: only this term should be used, in the title, for quantitative and/or qualitative data presented in the form of lines and columns (do not use the term “picture”). Tables should be numbered in the order of their appearance, with a heading to explain: what is represented, when and where it happened. The title should be placed on top of the Table, in compliance with APA standards.
  Example: Table 1 Descriptive statistics for sample with data based on December.
• Figure: only this term should be used in the title for images (do not use “illustration”, “graph”, “organizational chart” etc.). The title should be placed below the image, preceded by the word Figure and a number to indicate their order of appearance in the text, in Arabic numerals, in compliance with APA standards.
  Example: Figure 1 Inherent institutionalization processes.
• Tables, Figures and Formulae should permit editing in software compatible with Microsoft Office 2000 or superior for Windows.

Citations and References:

• Citations: according to the Standards of the American Psychological Association (APA). Citations should be indicated in the text through the ‘author-data’ system. E.g.: Martins (2002).
• References: as from January 2012, according to the Standards of the American Psychological Association (APA). Reference list in alphabetical order, at the end of the manuscript, including only those references mentioned in the text.

Manuscripts should be forwarded through the Revista website, available at: http://submission.scielo.br/index.php/rcf/login.