Scope: This is a guide for citing resources in the format required by Accounting Horizons, Accounting Review, and Issues in Accounting Education. These scholarly journals are published by the American Accounting Association.

 

Table of Contents

• In Text Citation Rules
• In Text Citation Examples

• Reference Rules

• Reference Examples
• Additional Information

 

In Text Citation Rules and Examples

Citation Rules

1. In text citation includes the author's last name followed by the year. Do not include a comma between the last name and the date. For example if you are citing an author from a scholarly journal article:
   • For one author: (Jones 1987)
   • For two authors: (Jones and Freeman 1987)
   • For two or more authors: (Jones et al. 1987)
     • Note: Only the first author's name is listed for more than two authors

      

2. If you are quoting an author include the same information as other article citations and add the page numbers. Do not use "p." "pp." for the page numbers:
   • (Jones 1987, 115)
   • (Jones 1987, 115-120)

 

3. If you are mentioning the author's name in the text there is no need to repeat it in the citation
   • "Jones (1987) says ..." - This would be mentioning the author of an article
   • "Jones (1987, 115) says ..." - This would be mentioning the author of a book

 

Citation Examples

In text citation example with one author:

Indeed, investors' concerns about disclosure credibility appear to be increasing,
as high-profile financial scandals such as Enron and WorldCom have shaken investor confidence in
the trustworthiness of financial disclosures (Barrett 2002).

In text citation example with two authors:

The credibility of any message is, in part, a function of its source (Bimbaum and Stegner 1979).

In text citation example with more than two authors:

Less earnings management is also found in firms whose boards and audit committees meet more frequently and have greater financial expertise (Xie et al. 2003).

Example where one author is mentioned in the text as a citation for an article:

For example, Kelley (1972) argues that people attribute messages consistent with the source's incentives to those incentives, rather than the source's true beliefs.

Example where two authors are mentioned in the text as a citation for an article:

In one experiment, Chaiken and Eagly (1976) expose participants to either an easy or difficult to understand persuasive message about a legal dispute.

Example where more than two authors are mentioned in the text as citation for an article:

In one study providing support for this idea, Eagly et al. (1978) conduct an experiment where they ask participants to read a political speech, telling some participants that the politician's speech is consistent with audience beliefs and others that the speech is inconsistent with audience beliefs.

In text citation example where author is cited with a page number:

Fortune states that during the 1990s, companies "started looking for financial officers who could do more than cut costs ... so CFOs tossed aside their green eyeshades and turned to more creative pursuits" (Kahn 2002, 199).

In text citation example from a website with an author:

Text of the sentence (Greenspan 2002) See reference example below

In text citation example from an association website with no specific author:

Text of the sentence (AIMR 2001) See reference example below

 

Reference Rules and Examples

 

Reference Rules:

1. Arrange citations in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author
2. For one author use his/her last name followed by first initial; there is a period after the author:
• Barrett, A.
3. For two or more authors list the first author as stated above, list each additional author as first initial followed by last name; There is a comma after the first author and a period after the last author:
   • Aboody, D., and R. Kasznik.
4. Put the date of the publication immediately after the author(s)' names followed by a period:
   • Aboody, D., and R. Kasznik. 2000.
5. Include the full name of the journal publication-do not abbreviate; Important words in the title are capitalized; The title is in italcs:
   • The Accounting Review
   • Journal of Accounting and Economics
   • Miller European Accounting Guide
6. For journal article or titles of a chapter give the full name; Only capitalize the first word of the title, the first word of a subtitle, and proper names; Put a period after the title:
   • Relative measurement errors among alternative pension asset and liability measures.
7. All lines after the first line include a hanging indent (see examples)
8. Include all page numbers (see examples)

 

 

Reference Examples

Scholarly Journal article with one author:

Note: Scholarly Journal Articles may include the volume and the month or volume and the issue number

Barth, M. 1991. Relative measurement errors among alternative pension asset and liability measures.

The Accounting Review 66 (July): 433—463.

Barth, M. 1991. Relative measurement errors among alternative pension asset and liability measures.

The Accounting Review 66 (3): 433—463.

 

Journal article with more than one author:

 

Aboody, D., and R. Kasznik. 2000. CEO stock option awards and the timing of corporate voluntary disclosures.

Journal of Accounting and Economics 29 (1): 73-100.

 

Article taken from a chapter in a book:

Seckler, G., and C. Voss. 2003. Germany. Miller European Accounting Guide 7.53-7.59.

New York: Aspen Publishers.

• Include the authors of the chapters punctuated by a period
• Include the date of the publication punctuated by a period
• Include the title of the chapter punctuated by a period
• Include the name of the book with all important words capitalized punctuated by a period
• Include all pages in the chapter
• Include the city and the name of the publisher
• Punctuate the end with a period

 

Book with one author:

Williams J. R. 1998. Miller GAAP Guide: Restatement and Analysis of Current Promulgated GAAP

New York: Harcourt Brace Professional Publishing.

 

• The author is listed with the Last name followed by the first and middle initial (if used)
• Capitalize each important name of in the title of the book, there is no period after the book title
• Include the city and the name of the publisher

 

Website with an author:

• Greenspan, A. 2002. Corporate Governance, a speech delivered at the Stern School of Business, New York University, March 26. Available at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2002

 

Website from an association with no specific author

• Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR). 2001. FD e-Survey summary. Retrieved
  June 2001 from http://www.aimr.com/pressroom/01releases/regfd surveysum.htm.

 

Additional Information

 

Each of the examples above come from the following publications from the American Accounting Association:

• Accounting Horizons
• Accounting Review
• Issues in Accounting Education

For additional examples consult a full text article in one of the above publications. Each of these is available from Business Source Premier, ABI/Inform Global, and the Weber State print holdings.

Further information about citing resources in these publications may be found under Information for Authors from the American Accounting Association Website (http://aaahq.org/pubs/author.htm). Click on the Editorial Policy link for any of the publications for additional information.