https://ajfa.macrothink.org/index.php/ajfa/issue/feedAsian Journal of Finance & Accounting2024-12-11T18:23:49+00:00Sofia Andersonajfa@macrothink.orgOpen Journal Systems<p>Asian Journal of Finance & Accounting (AJFA) is an internationally refereed journal published twice annually in June and December. The Journal is dedicated to the development, promotion and understanding of finance and accounting in their widest sense. Its main objective is to provide an online forum to disseminate findings of research in the fields of finance and accounting worldwide.</p> <p>The editorial board welcomes original submissions in English. Apart from research articles it also accepts research notes. The number of words for a research article should preferably be between 5,000 and 8,000 and that for a research note should preferably be between 2,000 and 3,000. The Editorial Board also welcomes reviews of books published in English. The maximum number of words for a book review should be 1,000.</p> <p>The following are some of the topical areas (but not limited to) relevant to the journal:</p> <p><strong>Finance:</strong></p> <p>- Behavioural finance</p> <p>- Efficiency of stock and foreign exchange markets</p> <p>- International parity conditions</p> <p>- Valuation of securities</p> <p>- Mergers and acquisitions</p> <p>- Cost of capital and capital budgeting</p> <p>- Modelling time-varying volatility of financial assets</p> <p>- Time-varying correlations, betas and copulas</p> <p>- Market microstructure</p> <p>- Islamic finance</p> <p> <strong>Accounting:</strong></p> <p>- Financial reporting and international financial reporting standards</p> <p>- Public sector accounting and auditing</p> <p>- Corporate governance</p> <p>- Audit expectation gap</p> <p>- Market for audit services</p> <p>- Determinants of job satisfaction of accounting academics</p> <p>- Determinants of various disclosures in company annual reports</p> <p>- Earnings management</p> <p>- Auditing standards</p> <p> </p> <p>The journal is published online <strong>semiannually in June and December.</strong> We aim to post articles online within 3 weeks of acceptance. The journal accepts article submissions <a href="https://ajfa.macrothink.org/index.php/ajfa/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions"><strong>online</strong></a> or by <a href="mailto:ajfa@macrothink.org"><strong>e-mail</strong></a>. For any questions, please contact: <strong>ajfa@macrothink.org</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The journal is included and abstracted in: </p> <ul> <li class="show"><a href="https://www.econbiz.de/Search/Results?lookfor=Asian+Journal+of+Finance+%26+Accounting&type=AllFields"><strong>EconBiz</strong></a></li> <li class="show"><a href="http://ezb.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/detail.phtml?bibid=AAAAA&colors=7&lang=en&jour_id=125101"><strong>Electronic Journals Library</strong></a></li> <li class="show"><a href="http://scholar.google.com/"><strong>Google Scholar</strong></a></li> <li class="show"><a href="https://pkp.sfu.ca/"><strong>PKP Open Archives Harvester</strong></a></li> <li class="show"><strong><a href="http://www.proquest.com/">ProQuest</a></strong></li> <li class="show"><strong><a href="http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/index.php">SHERPA/RoMEO</a></strong></li> <li class="show"><a href="http://www.oxbridge.com/SPDCluster/theSPD.asp"><strong>The Standard Periodical Directory</strong></a></li> </ul>https://ajfa.macrothink.org/index.php/ajfa/article/view/18985Insights into University Composite Rankings from Explainable AI Counterfactuals2024-11-25T17:01:59+00:00Armando Rodriguezarodriguez@newhaven.eduGeorge Heudorfergheudorfer@newhaven.eduBrian Kenchbkench@newhaven.edu<p>University Rankings exert considerable influence in higher-education decision-making. Yet, as an artifact of their construction, rankings are largely unhelpful in conveying practical strategic insights to university administrators intent on improving their college’s rank. Machine learning tools such as interpretable machine learning (IML) and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), taking aim at piercing obscure, black-box algorithms have gained a lot of interest recently. However, there appear to be few deployments of their use in appraising University rankings. In this work, using data representing QS Rankings data of USA MBA programs we show how counterfactual XAI can support proactive responses by educational stakeholders to Rankings outcomes. Explaining individual predictions opens great opportunities for intervention and strategizing. The method is applicable to any extant rankings.</p>2024-11-24T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 Armando Rodriguez, George Heudorfer, Brian Kenchhttps://ajfa.macrothink.org/index.php/ajfa/article/view/18987Diversifying Investments in Gulf Countries to Mitigate Financial Risks from Oil Price Volatility: A Case of Kuwait2024-12-11T18:23:49+00:00Noora F. Alibrahimnoora.alibrahim@gmail.com<p>The Kuwait and other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have traditionally based their economic model on the receipts from the sales of oil. Fluctuations in the price of oil in the global markets has since rendered these economies more vulnerable to such financial risks and through policymaking, the economies have started to look for ways of diversifying on the risks. While the world today is working towards a new energy mix, those changes toward renewables and sustainability have led the reliance on oil towards economic, strategic and developmental issues. For Kuwait, a country that depends on oil as its major source of export, the issue of diversifying the country’s investment portfolio is even more important. It is stated that Kuwait needs to diversify investments to minimise the risk linked with fluctuating oil prices. With regards to this study, the analyses of the current state of economy of Kuwait, the impacts of instability of oil prices and the possible opportunities for diversification of investments will help in a more informed understanding of how Kuwait can better ensure a sustainable economy.</p>2024-12-11T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 noora