29.05.2026
On May 21, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” hosted the academic seminar “Strategies and Best Practices for Publishing in International Indexed Journals”, dedicated to one of the most important topics in contemporary academic careers – successful publishing in international peer-reviewed and indexed scientific journals.
The seminar was organized at the initiative of Prof. Eleonora Stancheva, PhD, whose active contribution was instrumental to the realization of the event and to bringing attention to a topic of particular importance to the academic community. In her opening remarks, Prof. Stancheva emphasized the significance of successful publishing in international indexed academic journals as an essential element of the professional development of doctoral students, faculty members, and researchers, as well as the need for a deeper understanding of best practices in academic publishing.
The special guest and keynote speaker of the event was Prof. Agnes Cheng, Professor of Accounting and holder of the Dale Looper Chair in Accounting at the University of Oklahoma. Prof. Cheng is an internationally recognized scholar with extensive research and editorial experience and serves on the editorial boards of prestigious academic journals such as the Journal of Business Finance & Accounting (JBFA), the Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance (JAAF), and the Journal of International Accounting Research (JIAR).
Prof. Stancheva also highlighted that Prof. Cheng’s visit is particularly significant in relation to the preparation for the JAAF Conference 2027, which will be hosted by the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. She noted that such partnerships and academic initiatives represent an important step toward establishing the faculty as an active participant in the international academic community and as a hub for the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and best practices.
During the seminar, Prof. Cheng presented a detailed analysis of the structure and hierarchy of international academic journals, as well as the criteria that define a journal as “internationally indexed”. Among the main topics discussed were the Web of Science and Scopus databases, as well as the ABS and ABDC academic ranking systems.
Particular interest was generated by the presentation of leading academic journals in the fields of accounting and finance, including The Accounting Review (TAR), Journal of Accounting Research (JAR), Journal of Accounting & Economics (JAE), Review of Accounting Studies (RAST), Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR), Accounting, Organizations and Society (AOS), and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA). The speaker examined the specific characteristics of each journal, editors’ expectations, and the types of research most frequently published.
An important part of the discussion focused on the opportunities available to scholars from smaller and developing academic communities, including Bulgaria. Prof. Cheng emphasized that regional topics can be successfully positioned in prestigious international journals when framed through a clearly articulated theoretical contribution and an internationally relevant context. As an example, a hypothetical research topic on the impact of Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union on audit quality was discussed.
The seminar also paid special attention to the practical aspects of the publication process – selecting an appropriate journal, preparing the manuscript, communicating with editors and reviewers, and strategies for responding to peer reviews and editorial decisions. Prof. Cheng stressed the importance of a well-argued response letter, which often proves to be a decisive factor in the successful acceptance of an article.
During the moderated discussion, participants had the opportunity to ask questions related to the most common mistakes made by early-career researchers, the importance of originality and practical relevance in academic work, the challenges faced by non-native English-speaking authors, as well as the impact of artificial intelligence on academic publishing.
The event attracted considerable interest among faculty members, researchers, and doctoral students, who received valuable practical guidance for developing a long-term international publication strategy and for increasing the academic visibility of their research.