AI Usage Policy

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) USAGE POLICY

1. General Provisions

The Journal of Public and Business Accounting (JoPBA) recognizes the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including generative AI and AI-assisted technologies, to support academic research and scholarly publishing. JoPBA permits the responsible use of AI, provided that its use does not compromise academic integrity, research originality, data reliability, confidentiality, or publication ethics.

This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, and other parties involved in the manuscript submission, peer-review, and publication processes of JoPBA.

All parties must ensure that AI is used transparently, responsibly, and with appropriate human oversight. AI tools cannot replace human judgment, independent scholarly contributions, or individual accountability for research and editorial decisions.

2. Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI tools to support manuscript preparation and research activities, including language editing, translation, literature exploration, manuscript organization, data processing, statistical programming, qualitative data analysis, and the preparation of explanatory figures or diagrams.

Authors who use AI must:

Critically review and verify all AI-generated content before incorporating it into their manuscripts.
Ensure that references, citations, quotations, calculations, data, and analytical results are accurate and verifiable.
Maintain their own intellectual contribution, critical thinking, and independent interpretation throughout the research process.
Ensure that AI-assisted research methods and analytical procedures are appropriately documented to support transparency and reproducibility.
Protect confidential information, personal data, and intellectual property when using AI tools.
Accept full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of the submitted manuscript, including any content generated or assisted by AI.

AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors. Authorship is restricted to human contributors who meet the journal's authorship requirements and can take responsibility for their contributions.

3. Prohibited Uses of AI

The use of AI is prohibited when it compromises research integrity, academic honesty, or the reliability of scholarly publications. Authors must not use AI to:

Fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or misrepresent research data, interview transcripts, survey responses, financial statements, audit evidence, statistical results, or research findings.
Generate fictitious references, citations, quotations, or sources and present them as authentic.
Misrepresent AI-generated content as verified empirical evidence or as an original intellectual contribution that the authors did not make.
Conceal plagiarism, duplicate publication, inappropriate text reuse, or other forms of academic misconduct.
Manipulate analytical results, financial information, audit findings, or research interpretations to support predetermined conclusions.
Generate or alter images, tables, figures, or other materials in ways that misrepresent actual research evidence.
Violate copyright, intellectual property rights, privacy requirements, confidentiality obligations, or applicable research ethics standards.
Upload confidential, sensitive, or personally identifiable research information to AI systems without appropriate authorization and adequate safeguards.

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that all claims, methods, and findings are supported by appropriate evidence, regardless of whether AI has been used.

4. AI Use Declaration Requirements

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies when these tools materially contribute to manuscript preparation, research design, data collection, data processing, analysis, interpretation, or the creation or modification of substantive research materials.

The declaration must specify the name of the AI tool or service, its purpose, and the nature of its contribution. Where AI is used as part of the research methodology, its role must also be explained in the relevant section of the manuscript, particularly the Methods section.

For AI used in manuscript preparation, authors must include a separate declaration before the References section.

Basic spelling, punctuation, and grammar checks that do not materially alter the scholarly content do not require disclosure.

Authors may use the following declaration format:

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

“During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [name of AI tool or service] for [specific purpose]. The author(s) reviewed and verified the AI-assisted content, made the necessary revisions, and take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript.”

Authors must ensure that their declarations accurately reflect the actual use of AI. JoPBA reserves the right to request further clarification regarding the use of AI when necessary.

5. Use of AI by Reviewers

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of all manuscripts and related materials received during the peer-review process.

Reviewers must not upload submitted manuscripts, manuscript excerpts, research data, figures, tables, supplementary materials, or confidential editorial communications to external AI tools.

AI must not replace the reviewer's independent assessment of a manuscript's originality, theoretical contribution, methodological rigor, data reliability, analytical validity, relevance, or compliance with research ethics.

Where permitted by the journal, reviewers may use AI for limited supportive purposes, such as improving the language or structure of their review reports, provided that confidentiality is maintained and the reviewer retains full control over the assessment.

Any substantive AI assistance must be disclosed to the handling editor when required. Reviewers remain fully responsible for the accuracy, fairness, confidentiality, and scholarly judgment reflected in their reports.

6. Use of AI by Editors

Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and all other materials associated with the editorial process.

Editors must not upload confidential manuscript content or related editorial materials to external AI tools.

AI may be used for limited administrative or language-support purposes, provided that confidentiality is protected and human oversight is maintained. However, AI must not independently determine manuscript acceptance or rejection, replace peer review, establish research misconduct, or make final editorial decisions.

Editors remain responsible for evaluating the scientific quality, originality, ethical compliance, and suitability of manuscripts for publication in JoPBA. All editorial decisions must be based on independent human judgment, the journal's publication standards, and the available scholarly evidence.

7. Use of AI in Images and Documentation

AI-generated or AI-assisted images, illustrations, diagrams, tables, and other visual materials may be used when appropriate to the research purpose and consistent with applicable copyright, licensing, and publication requirements.

Authors must disclose the use of AI when it is used to generate or substantively modify images or other visual materials. Where appropriate, the disclosure must be included in the relevant figure caption, in addition to the general AI use declaration.

AI must not be used to fabricate, manipulate, or misrepresent financial records, accounting documents, audit evidence, empirical observations, research images, or other materials presented as authentic evidence.

Authors must ensure that all figures, tables, charts, and supporting documentation accurately represent the underlying data. They must retain relevant original files, research data, analytical code, and supporting documentation and provide them to the journal upon request when necessary to verify research integrity.

Authors are also responsible for ensuring that the use of AI-generated materials does not infringe copyright, intellectual property rights, privacy, or other applicable rights.

8. AI Screening and Actions for Policy Violations

JoPBA may conduct appropriate editorial screening and request additional information, original data, analytical code, source files, or other supporting documentation when concerns arise regarding AI use, authorship, data reliability, or research integrity.

AI-detection tools may be used as supplementary screening instruments. However, AI-detection results alone do not constitute conclusive evidence of academic misconduct.

Suspected violations will be assessed fairly and on the basis of available evidence, the nature and seriousness of the concern, the author's explanation where applicable, and the journal's publication ethics procedures.

Depending on the findings, JoPBA may take one or more of the following actions:

Request clarification, additional disclosure, or correction of the manuscript.
Request original research data, analytical code, or supporting documentation.
Suspend the editorial or publication process pending further investigation.
Reject the manuscript if a serious violation is established.
Issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction for a published article, where justified.
Notify the relevant institution or other appropriate body when warranted by the evidence and applicable procedures.

All actions must be proportionate to the circumstances and consistent with JoPBA's publication ethics policies and applicable scholarly publishing standards.

9. Closing Statement

JoPBA is committed to promoting responsible, transparent, and ethical AI use in academic publishing. All authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to comply with this policy to safeguard the credibility, originality, and integrity of scholarly publications.

This policy shall be reviewed periodically to reflect developments in AI technology, research ethics, and scholarly publishing practices. It should be read alongside JoPBA's Author Guidelines, Publication Ethics, and Peer Review Policy.