While a certain Canadian journal cannot process its accepted papers in a timely fashion, let alone do anything innovative, JAR is slowly taking back its former place as the leading innovative America’s based accounting journal!

Why do I, who has never been known as a friend of JAR, say that?    I suspect a lot of the world missed the brief announcement last week on SSRN that JAR was proposing something quite inventive for accounting journals! The JAR conference 2017 topic was announced TWO years early and its a doozy!

“Registered reports” is the theme in ’17 and it is based on a two stage process. First, develop in detail a research proposal but do no data collection – submit  the proposal for review and then get tentatively accepted for JAR ’17 Conference. Second, assuming you actually carry out AND analyze the research as specified in the proposal, Then present the paper in 2017!

Further they are emphasizing non- traditional data sources as part of the call!   High risk research welcomed they state!

The JAR Editors are suggesting that ex ante acceptance of ideas and plans of action will lead to two good outcomes:

1. Less culling of the data to try and find statistical significance!

2. Removing the barrier to high risk research by removing ex post uncertainty of publication!

While as usual the devil is in the details that will not be announced until June – my hat is tipped to the JAR Editors who have slowly moved over the past two years to bring JAR back from being a pale imitation of JAE and towards being the American rebel it once was!  Amazing what turning 50 does for you!  It either is the beginning of the end or the start of reinvorgation! Let’s hope it is the latter in JAR’s case!