SCOPE AND RESEARCH AREAS
RC&F publishes inedited theoretical development papers, theoretical-empirical studies, and thesis-support essays 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.
On submitting an article to RC&F, the author(s) shall certify that the work is in line with the Research Guidelines and with the scope of the Journal.
The research guidelines which implement the focus of publication are:
- Management accounting and controllership: Refers to the field of research and studies on management accounting and controllership and their use in the organizations. Among the various themes of interest, it considers: management accounting; cost analysis and management; auditing of public, private, and third sector entities; tax planning and management; supply chain; strategic planning and budget control; management control systems; management information systems; assessment of investment projects; sustainability; controller career; among others. This line of research treats various organizations types, including startups.
- Financial accounting: Involves the development of studies and research related to the aspects of identification, measurement, and disclosure of accounting information. Some of the principal elements are: accounting theory; corporate accounting; standard convergence; social balance sheet (value added statement, environment, human resources); intellectual capital; governmental and third sector accounting; independent auditing; financial statement analysis; recognition of inflationary effects; tax accounting; corporate governance.
- Public sector accounting, finance, and auditing: This area encompasses research aimed at describing, explaining, interpreting, and/or understanding the generation and use of accounting information in managing and controlling public resources. It includes studies of various types of public sector organizations, as well as other organizational arrangements created to manage and apply public resources and policies. Among the numerous topics of interest, this area covers: governmental accounting in public resource management, public finance (fiscal management mechanisms such as debt control, fiscal solvency, and other controls over public expenditure, revenues, and fiscal limits operations); effects of public sector digitalization; organization and operation of public sector cost systems; managerial use of accounting information for the definition and evaluation of public policies; effects and implications of public sector accounting standards; historical approaches related to the public sector; public budgeting and financial and budgetary administration systems, whether as mechanisms of fiscal control, resource allocation, elements of power distribution within organizations, or transparency; control and accountability mechanisms (internal, external, and social), public sector sustainability, and various other topics related to the management and control of public resources.
- Financial market and companies/stakeholders integration: Covers studies and research aimed at conceptual and/or empirical aspects of the financial system markets (credit, exchange, monetary, and capital markets), as well as the relationships of taker and investor of resources, from the perspective of past and/or projected corporate performance, interest conflicts, transparency, governance, always linked to the accounting discussion.
- Accounting, controllership, actuarial and financial education and research: Refers to the investigation of models, methods, techniques and instruments aiming at the improvement in quality of the entire teaching/learning process, as well as the construction of scientific works in all areas of the accounting, financial, and actuarial sciences. Comprises: higher education and accounting, finance, and actuarial sciences; accountants education; international curriculum; teaching and learning process; learning styles and strategies; education technology; on-line education and virtual collaborative models; accounting epistemology; profile; entrance process; permanence and dropout in the higher education; egress progression; assessment of educational programs.
- Actuarial sciences: Covers themes related to risk management and social protection. Some of the principal areas are all of the modalities of insurance, basic security and complementary welfare, health, enterprise risk management and financial risk, finance and investments, demography and aging, and other research themes using actuarial techniques.
- Emerging themes in accounting, finance, and actuarial sciences: It is intended for critical and interdisciplinary research, examining accounting, financial, and actuarial practices as social instruments that can either perpetuate inequalities or promote justice and equity. To achieve this, it is essential to integrate knowledge from fields such as Sociology and History, to offer innovative perspectives. This research area prioritizes investigations that: (1) examine the role of these practices in shaping socioeconomic structures, challenging dominant narratives and exposing colonial and post-colonial influences; (2) explore how these practices both impact and are impacted by issues of gender, race, and class; (3) analyze professionals in these fields as a group, revealing how social, political, and economic contexts shape their identities and practices; (4) investigate the semantic transformations of fundamental concepts, demonstrating how seemingly stable terms reflect shifts in practices, economic structures, and power relations. This research area values both the prevailing meanings and those that have been marginalized, critically questioning the interests behind these struggles. This approach uncovers the complexities that shape technical language in different contexts, deepening our understanding of these disciplines as socially situated and contested practices.
- Researches developed within the Hispanic areas: Aims to become a meeting point between researches carried out in the Hispanic, Brazilian, and Anglo-Saxon areas, based on articles written in the Hispanic area.
If the authors have doubts about the compliance of their works within RC&F research guidelines, they should contact the Editor-in-Chief (recont@usp.br).
