Editorial

Since this is the last issue of the Journal for which I have re-sponsibilities as Manuscripts Editor, I would like to reflect on several aspects of the Journal during my term as a member of the Editorial Staff.

My approach to the responsibilities of the Manuscripts Editor appears to have been similar to that of my predecessor. After receiving a manuscript for possible publication, I forwarded it to two selected members of the Editorial Board for blind reviews. Based on their recommendations, the manuscript was accepted, not accepted, or returned to the author for revision. In cases where the reviews of the manuscript resulted in one acceptance and one rejection, the manuscript was forwarded to another member of the Editorial Board. Ad hoc reviewers were occasionally used when it was thought to be in the best interest of the author. While the Manuscripts Editor has the final say as to whether or not a manuscript is published, my policy was to rely on the recommendations of the reviewers. In each instance I was most pleased with their comprehensive reviews, and I never felt it was necessary to alter their recommendations. Regardless of the decision concerning a manuscript, comments of the anonymous reviewers were provided to the author. As Manuscripts Editor, 1 felt it was not only my responsibility to edit the manuscripts, but also to edit the other material in the Journal.

The established format of the Journal was basically maintained with separate sections for Feature Articles, Historical Nuggets, Book Reviews, and Doctoral Research; however, some changes were made to streamline the presentation. Information about the Editorial Staff was moved from the inside front cover to later pages of the Journal, and information on The Academy of Accounting Historians was put on this inside cover. Both the Guide for Submitting Manuscripts and the Reproduction Policy were revised. The Journal was expanded to approximately 150 pages per issue. Attempts were made to maintain the international scope of the Journal, as well as to continue to have a balanced composition of articles on the various areas of accounting history.

A major accomplishment during my term as Manuscripts Editor was co-editing and codifying the first three years of The Accounting Historian (forerunner of the Journal) into one bound volume similar in size and format to that of the Journal. This volume and Volumes 4 through 10 of the Journal provide a complete set of those research materials that have been published by the Academy to date. In a related matter, the Production Editor, Merv Wingfield, and I are in the final stages of completing a 10-year index of authors and subject matter for the Journal.

My sincere appreciation to everyone who has served on the staff of the Journal during my three-and-a-half year term, particularly to Mervyn W. Wingfield, Production Editor; Gary John Previts and Williard E. Stone, Advisory Editors; Dale A. Buckmaster, Book Review Editor; and Maureen H. Berry, Doctoral Research Editor. My very special thanks, of course, to all the members of the Editorial Board whose competent help made my task much less demanding. It is a necessity to have a sincere and dedicated editorial staff to produce a major journal, and I was most fortunate to have worked with such a staff.

I view my term as Manuscripts Editor as one of enhancing the internal operations of the Journal, streamlining its presentation, and maintaining the quality of its contents. It was a pleasure to have served as Manuscripts Editor, and I hope that my efforts have contributed to the continued development of the Journal.
Edward N. Coffman Manuscripts Editor