Ethics Guidelines
The Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy (JFSA) is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical publishing. All individuals involved in the publication process including authors, editors, reviewers and board members, are expected to adhere to the following core principles:
- Integrity – all contributions must reflect accurate and evidence-based work with no misrepresentation of data, sources or findings.
- Independence – potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed that might influence the objectivity of work.
- Confidentiality – submissions are confidential and must not be shared with anyone outside the editorial process without explicit permission.
- Non-discrimination – the editorial process must be conducted without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, affiliation, or personal beliefs.
- Accountability – all parties are accountable for upholding the reputation of the journal and contributing to the advancement of professional practice and knowledge in financial supervision.
Editorial Responsibilities: Editors are entrusted with ensuring that manuscripts are evaluated fairly and solely based on their scholarly merit and relevance to the journal’s scope. They must maintain impartiality and avoid bias in decision-making. Editors are also required to maintain strict confidentiality, ensuring that no information about a submitted manuscript is disclosed to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and advisory board members. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submission must not be used for personal research without the express written consent of the author(s). Editors are also entrusted with promptly addressing ethical concerns or suspected misconduct in accordance with these guidelines.
Author Responsibilities: Authors are expected to uphold the highest standards of research integrity and must present accurate, objective accounts of their work and of its significance. Fraudulent, misleading or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and will not be tolerated. Any conflicts of interest or funding sources must be disclosed. Authors are expected to ensure that their work is original, that all sources are properly cited or quoted, and that the submission is not under review or published elsewhere.
Handling Ethical Breaches: The JFSA takes all allegations of misconduct seriously. Suspected cases of plagiarism, data falsification, or other unethical conduct will be investigated promptly and thoroughly. The JFSA reserves the right to reject or retract affected articles, issue formal corrections or notices of concerns, and bar individuals from future submissions.
Editorial Board and Advisory Board Responsibilities
Editorial Oversight: The Editorial Board is responsible for maintaining the overall quality and integrity of the journal’s content. The Editor-in-Chief holds final authority over all publication decisions. Supporting this process are the Journal Coordinator and Technical Coordinator, who provide essential operational and technical support throughout the publication cycle.
JFSA Coordination Team: The Coordination Team, composed of the Editor-in-Chief, Journal Coordinator, and Technical Coordinator, is responsible for all final decisions relating to the annual publication of the journal’s volumes. This team also conducts yearly reviews of the journal’s guidelines and ensures that all procedures outlined in this document are consistently followed.
Advisory Board Role: The Advisory Board reviews the selected manuscripts anonymously after the editorial process has been completed. Its members assess each submission for relevance to the journal’s scope and objectives and provide the JFSA Coordination Team with their respective evaluations. Advisory Board members are also required to maintain confidentiality throughout the review process.
Submission, Editorial, and Open Access Guidelines
Manuscript Submission
Authors are invited to submit manuscripts via email to [email protected]. A submission button on the JFSA website will redirect users to this email address for convenience.
Submissions must:
- Be written in proficient academic English.
- Adhere to the OSCOLA referencing style.
- Include a manuscript between 2,500 and 10,000 words.
- Be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format.
- Include a cover proposal outlining the manuscript’s significance, originality, and a confirmation that it has not been submitted elsewhere.
Editorial Process
Upon submission, the manuscript and accompanying proposal will be reviewed by the JFSA Coordination Team, comprising the Editor-in-Chief, Journal Coordinator, and Technical Coordinator. If deemed suitable, the manuscript will be shared with the full Editorial Board for further evaluation. Upon consensus, authors will be notified of their manuscript’s selection, and the editorial process will commence.
Once manuscripts are read in full, the Journal Coordinator or Technical Coordinator will share comprehensive notes from the Editorial Board. These notes may include, but are not limited to:
- Requests for clarification on statements made in the paper.
- Corrections of mistakes.
- Requests for additional references if the Editorial Board concludes that certain statements need further support to ensure accuracy.
The Editorial Board will assess each manuscript for plagiarism using appropriate detection tools. Each case will be evaluated individually, considering the article type and disciplinary norms. The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject submissions based on plagiarism reports and editorial assessment. Authors may be required to revise, paraphrase, or properly cite affected sections. Rejection decisions will be accompanied by a justification.
Open Access and Copyright
The JFSA is committed to open access publishing. All articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), allowing free distribution and reproduction with appropriate attribution to the original authors. Authors retain copyright over their work but grant the journal the right of first publication.
Articles will be assigned DOIs via CrossRef and published under a registered ISSN. The journal ensures long-term accessibility by depositing articles in reputable open-access repositories.
Data Privacy and Security
The JFSA complies with the MFSA Privacy Policy Statement regarding data security and protection. All submitted information will be handled in accordance with institutional data governance standards.
Retraction and Correction Guidelines
Articles may be retracted by the authors if significant errors are discovered. In case of misconducts, such as plagiarism, the Editorial Board or members of the JFSA Coordination Team may initiate a retraction. A retraction notice will be issued promptly, clearly explaining the reason for the retraction to ensure transparency. Minor errors identified post-publication will be addressed through official correction notices that are linked to the original article.
*These Editorial Guidelines were approved by the JFSA Coordination Team on 06 May 2025.