On the afternoon of December 2, 2025, Professor Steven Dellaportas, a 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 for faculty and students in Lecture Hall 214 of the School Building on the Chang'an Campus. As the 26th lecture in the School of Management's 2025 Overseas Experts Lecture Series, this event was hosted by Associate Professor Tian Haowen and attracted the active participation of more than 20 postgraduate and undergraduate students.

In the lecture, Professor Steven Dellaportas systematically analyzed the common reasons for academic paper rejection during the review stage and the common oversights of authors. He provided an in-depth interpretation of the review logic of editors and reviewers, and emphasized the importance of accurately selecting target journals. By sorting out various reasons for rejection—from failure in formal review to lack of substantive contributions—Professor Dellaportas revealed the common warning signs of shoddy research, and helped the faculty and students avoid potential pitfalls by distinguishing between different writing styles. In the case discussion session, he guided the audience to adopt a reviewer’s perspective and understand the decision-making process of paper rejection firsthand, combining paper examples from specific fields such as corporate social responsibility disclosure, institutions and auditing. Finally, he focused on how to clearly and compellingly refine and present research contributions, offering practical strategic suggestions to enhance the academic persuasiveness of manuscripts and help faculty and students face publishing challenges with confidence.

After the lecture, Professor Steven Dellaportas engaged in extensive discussions and exchanges with the attending faculty and students around the lecture theme. The interactive session was held in a lively atmosphere, bringing new insights and reflections to the faculty and students on the publication of academic papers in the field of accounting.

(Written by / Sun Silei, Tian Haowen | Reviewed by / Shao Jing, Zhang Shuang)

Brief Introduction to the Lecturer

Steven Dellaportas has served as a Professor of Accounting since 2013. His main research and teaching focus on accounting ethics, where he has accumulated rich research achievements in financial fraud, ethical behavior, and ethical norms in accounting education. He has been invited to give keynote speeches in Australia, Asia, the United Kingdom and the United States on multiple occasions.

Steven has acted as a guest editor for journals including the Managerial Auditing Journal, Meditari Accountancy Research and Accounting Education, and is currently the Co-Editor of the Accounting Section of the internationally renowned journal Journal of Business Ethics. He has published more than 60 papers in international peer-reviewed journals, presided over the compilation of two textbooks and three book chapters, and developed professional development course content on ethical themes for professional accounting institutions.