On the afternoon of December 2, 2025, Professor Steven Dellaportas, Professor of Accounting at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, was invited by the School of Management to deliver an academic lecture entitled "Publishing Tips and Pitfalls: Insights from an Editor" at Lecture Hall 214, School of Management Building, Chang'an Campus. As the 26th session of the 2025 Overseas Lecture Series of the School of Management, the lecture was chaired by Associate Professor Tian Haowen, attracting the active participation of over 20 postgraduate and undergraduate students.

In his lecture, Professor Dellaportas systematically analyzed the common reasons for manuscript rejection during the review process and the oversights frequently made by authors. He provided an in-depth interpretation of the review logic employed by editors and reviewers, and emphasized the importance of precisely selecting an appropriate target journal. By examining various categories of rejection causes, ranging from failure to pass the initial editorial screening to a lack of substantive contribution, Professor Dellaportas revealed the common warning signals in sloppy research and, through an analysis of different writing styles, helped faculty and students avoid potential pitfalls. During the case workshop session, Professor Dellaportas guided participants to adopt a reviewer's perspective, drawing on concrete paper examples from fields such as corporate social responsibility disclosure, institutions and auditing, enabling them to understand firsthand how rejection decisions are made. Finally, he focused on how to distill and articulate research contributions with clarity and impact, offering practical strategic advice to enhance the academic persuasiveness of a manuscript and equipping faculty and students to navigate the challenges of publishing with greater confidence.

Following the presentation, Professor Dellaportas held a thorough discussion and exchange with the attending faculty and students on the theme of the lecture. The interactive session was marked by a warm atmosphere, bringing fresh inspiration and reflection to the participants regarding the publication of academic papers in the field of accounting.

（Written by Sun Silei and Tian Haowen; Reviewed by Shao Jing and Zhang Shuang）

About the speaker：

Steven Dellaportas has been a Professor of Accounting since 2013. His main research and teaching interests focus on accounting ethics, and he has accumulated extensive research findings on financial fraud, ethical behavior, and ethical norms in accounting education. He has been invited to deliver keynote speeches in Australia, Asia, the United Kingdom, and the United States on numerous occasions. Steven has served as Guest Editor for journals including Managerial Auditing Journal, Meditari Accountancy Research, and Accounting Education. He currently serves as Co-Editor of the Accounting Section for the prestigious international journal Journal of Business Ethics. He has published over 60 papers in international peer-reviewed journals, authored two textbooks and three book chapters, and developed professional development course content on ethics for professional accounting bodies.