Open Access Journals for Accounting Students (2026)

For accounting students — from undergraduate research projects through to PhD dissertations — open access journals provide two critical benefits: access to cutting-edge accounting research without costly subscriptions, and publication opportunities for student research in peer-reviewed indexed journals. Keith Publications accounting journals welcome high-quality student research and are freely accessible to every accounting student worldwide.

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What to Look for When Choosing a Journal

Before submitting your research, evaluate journals on these key criteria:

Fully open access — no reader subscription, paywall, or institutional barrier
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licence allowing broad sharing and reuse
Indexed in Google Scholar, CrossRef, and open access finance directories
Wide dissemination to academic, policy, and practitioner finance audiences
DOI (CrossRef) assignment for permanent, citable article identification
Affordable APC with waiver options for eligible researchers

Recommended Journals — Cluster 7: Finance, Accounting & Economics

All journals below are published by Keith Publications — open access, peer-reviewed, and indexed for global discoverability.

Journal of Financial Economics and Management (JFEM)
Financial economics, corporate finance, investment management, financial markets, monetary policy, and the economics of financial systems and institutions.

Review: 2–3 weeks Open Access DOI (CrossRef) Google Scholar

Financial Economics Corporate Finance Investment Management Financial Markets

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Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting (JAFR)
Financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, corporate governance, financial reporting standards, and the intersection of accounting with regulation and public policy.

Review: 2–4 weeks Open Access DOI (CrossRef) Google Scholar

Financial Accounting Auditing Corporate Governance Financial Reporting

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International Journal of Banking and Financial Services (IJBFS)
Banking systems, financial services regulation, fintech, digital banking, risk management, financial inclusion, and the stability of global financial institutions.

Review: 2–4 weeks Open Access DOI (CrossRef) Google Scholar

Banking Systems Financial Services Fintech Risk Management

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Economics and Social Policy Research Journal (ESPRJ)
Applied economics, development economics, fiscal and monetary policy, social policy evaluation, labour economics, and the economics of welfare, health, and education.

Review: 2–4 weeks Open Access DOI (CrossRef) Google Scholar

Applied Economics Development Economics Fiscal Policy Social Policy

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Fast Publication: All Keith Publications journals complete initial review within 2–5 business days and full peer review within 2–4 weeks. Articles are published online within 5–10 days of acceptance — making us one of the fastest open access publishers in finance, accounting, and economics.

Why Open Access Publishing Benefits Finance and Economics Researchers

Open access finance and economics research is increasingly demanded by funding bodies, central banks, government treasury departments, and international development organisations. When your research on financial reporting standards, banking regulation, monetary policy, or economic development is published open access, it becomes immediately available to the policymakers, regulators, and practitioners who can translate your findings into real-world change. Studies consistently show that open access finance articles receive significantly more downloads, citations, and policy uptake than subscription-based equivalents. Keith Publications finance journals publish all research fully open access under CC BY 4.0 for maximum global reach.

Understanding the CC BY 4.0 Licence for Finance Research

All Keith Publications journals publish under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. This means anyone — policymakers, regulators, bank officials, finance practitioners, journalists, or educators — can freely read, share, download, adapt, and build upon your research for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as they credit the original authors. This licence is endorsed by major research funders globally and fully complies with open access mandates from economics and finance funding bodies. It maximises the societal impact of your finance research and ensures your findings can directly inform financial policy and practice worldwide.

Tips to Maximise Your Acceptance Chances

Align your topic with the journal's scope — confirm your research fits the journal's finance, accounting, or economics focus area.
Establish clear research questions — finance and economics editors expect precise, testable hypotheses or well-defined research questions.
Address endogeneity and identification — be explicit about your causal identification strategy and its limitations.
Use appropriate data and methodology — match your econometric or quantitative methods to your research question and data structure.
Follow formatting guidelines exactly — non-compliant manuscripts are often desk-rejected without review.
State practical and policy implications — explain how your findings inform investors, regulators, policymakers, or practitioners.
Ensure robust robustness checks — include alternative specifications, subsample analyses, and placebo tests to strengthen your empirical claims.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can accounting students publish in Keith Publications journals?

Yes. Keith Publications accounting journals welcome submissions from postgraduate accounting students. Research is evaluated on scholarly merit — not on author seniority. First-time authors receive constructive peer review feedback designed to improve their manuscripts.

How do accounting students benefit from open access journals?

Open access allows accounting students to read the latest accounting research without institutional subscriptions, conduct literature reviews using freely available studies, and see their own published research become freely accessible to the global accounting community.

Can a student publish their accounting dissertation as an open access paper?

Yes. Accounting dissertations can be adapted into journal article format and submitted to Keith Publications accounting journals. The key is converting the dissertation format into a journal article structure — a focused research question, concise literature review, clear methodology, and specific findings.

Is co-authorship with a supervisor allowed in accounting student publications?

Yes. Co-authored submissions where a student is first author and their academic supervisor is a co-author are common and welcome in Keith Publications accounting journals. All co-authors must have made substantive contributions to the research.

Related Research Guides

Explore other research journal guides in the Finance, Accounting & Economics cluster: