The Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting and Economics (APJAE), a journal of the College of Business (CB) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU), has been included in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), the world renowned database of Thomson Reuters. Very few journals of this academic discipline in Asia-Pacific region, let alone in Hong Kong, have acquired that prestige. The inclusion signifies the international recognition of CB’s excellent research and enhances its reputation worldwide.

Thomson Reuters commended APJAE as a well-produced journal in the Finance Business and Economics studies. “It is well known that the evaluation criteria for journals to be indexed in the SSCI are extremely stringent, with an average rejection rate of 9 out of 10 journals submitted. Therefore, with this journal being indexed, your hard work and dedication has paid off, and this is a monumental achievement,” wrote Thomson Reuters.

“Being home to one of the few SSCI-indexed accounting journals worldwide is surely something we can be very proud of. All the hard work of our colleagues and the editorial team paid off with this inclusion. We will continue to strive for excellence,” said Professor Matthew Lee Kwok-on, Associate Dean (Research, Postgraduate & Executive Education) at CB.

APJAE was inaugurated back in 1994 by the Department of Accountancy of CB. In 2005, the former Dean of CB, Professor L. K. Chan, invited Professor Eden Yu Siu-hung, then Head of the Department of Economics and Finance and currently Associate Dean (Undergraduate) of CB, to take over the journal. It was then that APJAE entered into a new era. Supported by CB, the Department of Accounting and the Department of Economics and Finance, APJAE emerged as one of the Asia-Pacific region’s most respected publications over the years. Professor Yu, in his role as the editor, revamped its design and layout, came up with a new editorial board composed of experts with outstanding achievements in their respective fields, and expanded the research coverage to include topics of economics and finance in general.

Two years later in 2007, in response to the University Grants Committee’s (UGC) call for inter-university and inter-regional collaboration, Professor Yu invited National Taiwan University (NTU), one of the most prestigious universities in Asia, to join as the co-publisher of APJAE, and the partnership continues till today. As part of the co-operation and expansion plan, APJAE started publishing an additional issue in the same year, increasing its publication volume from two issues to three issues annually. Several renowned scholars were also recruited to join the editorial board to support the concerted effort.

Besides publication, there are also annual APJAE symposiums to foster international academic exchange on current topics related to trade and economic development. For example, the 2010 APJAE Symposium on International Trade and the China Economy was held on 19 - 20 May. The international significance of the Symposium was highlighted by the fact that speakers came from around the world: UK, US, France, Canada, mainland China, Taiwan and local institutions of Hong Kong. Selected research papers from the Symposium, subject to a post-conference review process, will be published in the upcoming December issue, as has been the case in the past years.

APJAE serves as an international forum for theoretical and empirical research in selected areas of economics, finance and accountancy. In particular, the journal welcomes contributions of high-quality manuscripts in the following areas: auditing, financial reporting, earnings management, financial analysts, the role of accounting information, international trade and finance, economic development, industrial organisation, strategic behaviour, market structure, financial contracts, corporate governance, capital markets, and financial institutions.

Further details of APJAE can be found in its official website: www.roae.org