Manuscripts should be submitted to: Lawrence A. Gordon and Martin P. Loeb, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. Alternatively, manuscripts may be submitted electronically to Martin P. Loeb (mloeb@rhsmith.umd.edu). Electronic submissions should include a separate file for the title page with the name(s) and affiliation of author(s). The acknowledgements should be put on the title page. The first page of the text file should include the title of the paper without any reference to the author(s). Manuscripts are submitted with the understanding that they are original, unpublished works and are not being submitted elsewhere.

Typescripts should be carefully checked before submission to obviate alterations after acceptance.

Mathematical Notation. Use typewritten letters, numbers, and symbols whenever possible. Identify boldface, script letters, etc. at their first occurrence. Distinguish between one and the letter "l" and between zero and the letter "O" whenever confusion might result.

References. Citation in text is by name(s) of author(s), followed by year of publication and page numbers in parentheses. For references authored by more than two contributors use first author's name and et al. For multiple citations in the same year use a, b, c after year of publication. The reference list should be typed alphabetically according to the following style:

Journal: Martens, S., Stevens, K., 1993. Positive accounting theory and the obligation for post-retirements benefits. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 4 (3), 275-295.

Daily: Lublin, J., Lopez, J., Jan. 15, 1993. Executive disclosures pay-off for advisers, The Wall Street Journal 221 (10), B1.

Book: Fleiss J., 1981. Statistical Methods For Rates and Proportions, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York.

Edited Book: Arens A., 1993. An academic's perspective of setting auditing standards. In: Mary Ball Wahington Forum Series in Accounting Education, M. Usry (Ed.), University of West Florida, Penascola, FL, pp. 36-47.

Institute publication: Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), 1987. Recognition of depreciation by not-for-profit organizations. Statement of Finanacial Accounting Standards no. 93. Financial Accounting Standards Board, Stanford, CT.

Illustrations. Unmounted, glossy, black and white photographs or India ink drawings on white paper should accompany the original copy of the manuscript. Photocopies are acceptable for the other three copies of the manuscript. On the back of each figure write the number, first author's name, and indicate which the top. Captions appear on a separate page.

Proofs and Reprints. The Corresponding author will receive proofs, which should be corrected and returned within ten days of receipt. The author is responsible for proofreading the manuscript; the publisher is not responsible for any error not marked by the author on proof. Corrections should be limited to printer's errors; no substantial changes are allowed at this stage. For each article 25 free offprints are supplied. Additional offprints may be ordered; the Publisher will send the order form to the corresponding author.

Copyright. Upon acceptance of an article by the journal, the author(s) will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the publisher, Elsevier Inc. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information under the U.S. Copyright law.

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