AFRE (Accounting and Financial Review) is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and completeness of the scholarly record. On rare occasions, it may be necessary to correct, clarify, or retract a published article after its release. AFRE follows the COPE Retraction Guidelines and best practices in academic publishing to handle such matters transparently and consistently.

Article Corrections

Corrections are made to published articles when minor, inadvertent errors occur that do not invalidate the overall scientific integrity, findings, or conclusions of the paper.

• Erratum / Corrigendum Published when significant errors (e.g., mislabeled table axes, mathematical calculation errors, inadvertent omissions of key metadata, or author name spelling mistakes) are identified by the authors or readers.

Implementation

• A separate, formal Correction notice will be published in the next available issue and linked directly to the original article online.
• The original online article (PDF/HTML) will be updated to reflect the correction, with a note clearly indicating the date and nature of the modification.

Retractions

Retraction is a mechanism used to correct the literature and alert readers to publications containing findings or data that are so seriously flawed or unethical that their reliance would be harmful or misleading.

Criteria for Retraction

• Clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, whether due to major scientific errors, data fabrication, or falsification.
• Plagiarism, redundant publication (duplicate publication), or unauthorized use of third-party data/materials.
• Unreported major conflicts of interest that significantly bias the findings.
• Unethical research practices or lack of necessary institutional ethics approval.

Retraction Process

1. Allegations are thoroughly investigated by the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board in accordance with COPE flowcharts.
2. If a retraction is warranted, a formal Notice of Retraction titled "Retraction: [Article Title]" will be published and linked to the original paper.
3. The Retraction Notice will explicitly state who is retracting the article (authors, editors, or publisher) and the underlying reasons.
4. The original article PDF will remain accessible on the website to preserve the scholarly record, but will be clearly watermarked with "RETRACTED" on every page.

Expressions of Concern

The Editor-in-Chief may issue an Expression of Concern if:

• There is well-founded evidence of research misconduct or data unreliability, but the investigation is ongoing, complex, or inconclusive.
• An institution's investigation into alleged misconduct is deemed biased, delayed, or insufficient.

The notice will be published online and linked to the manuscript to inform readers while awaiting final resolution.

Article Removal or Replacement

• Article Removal In extremely rare and exceptional circumstances, a paper may be completely removed from the journal’s online platform if it poses severe legal risks, infringes on legal rights, violates court orders, or contains dangerous data. In such cases, the article text will be replaced with a page stating that the article has been removed for legal or safety reasons.
• Article Replacement If an author retracts a paper containing flawed data but subsequently corrects the dataset and re-submits a valid version, a replacement may be considered following a full peer-review process.

Contact Information

Authors or readers who identify errors or potential grounds for retraction in published articles are encouraged to notify the Editorial Board immediately by emailing [email protected].