Peer Review Process

Islamic Accounting and Finance Review (ISAFIR) is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal published by the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business, Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar, Indonesia.

To ensure the publication of high-quality scholarly work, every manuscript submitted to ISAFIR undergoes a rigorous double-blind peer-review process. Authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process, ensuring fairness, objectivity, and academic integrity.

The editorial workflow is designed to evaluate manuscripts based on originality, scientific merit, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and their contribution to the advancement of accounting, finance, auditing, governance, and Islamic financial studies.

The peer-review process consists of the following stages.


1. Submission of Paper

The corresponding or submitting author uploads the manuscript through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. To support authors during the transition, ISAFIR temporarily accommodates submissions via email.

2. Editorial Office Assessment

The editorial office performs an initial screening to ensure conformity with the journal’s focus and scope. Manuscript structure and formatting are checked against the Author Guidelines. At this stage, minimum scholarly quality is evaluated, including methodological clarity. Manuscripts that pass this stage are screened for similarity using Turnitin or iThenticate before being sent to reviewers.

3. Appraisal by the Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief evaluates the manuscript’s originality, relevance, contribution, and alignment with ISAFIR’s mission. Manuscripts deemed unsuitable may be declined without proceeding to peer review.

4. Invitation to Reviewers

The handling editor invites reviewers whose expertise matches the manuscript's subject area and who have no conflicts of interest. ISAFIR employs a strict double-blind system: reviewers do not know the authors’ identities, and authors do not know the reviewers’. Manuscripts are sent to reviewers anonymously.

5. Response to Invitations

Potential reviewers assess the invitation based on expertise, workload, and conflict-of-interest considerations. They may accept or decline. When declining, they may recommend alternative qualified reviewers.

6. Review is Conducted

Reviewers examine the manuscript thoroughly. The initial reading forms an overall impression, while subsequent readings allow detailed evaluation. If major issues arise early, reviewers may recommend rejection. Otherwise, they provide constructive, point-by-point feedback and recommend acceptance, rejection, or revision (major or minor).

7. Journal Evaluates the Reviews

The Editor-in-Chief and the handling editor assess all review reports before reaching a decision. If reviewer opinions diverge significantly, an additional reviewer may be consulted.

8. The Decision is Communicated

The editor sends the decision to the author along with anonymized reviewer comments. Reviewers are notified of the editorial outcome regarding their evaluations.

9. Final Steps

If accepted, the manuscript proceeds to the copyediting phase. If revisions are required, authors must address all reviewer comments and resubmit. Revised manuscripts may undergo re-evaluation by reviewers unless only minor changes are requested, in which case the handling editor may conduct the final assessment.

Once the revised manuscript meets ISAFIR’s editorial standards, it is accepted for publication. Accepted articles are published online and are freely accessible in downloadable PDF format.