Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Subfield · Business, Management and Accounting

Accounting research

Accounting is a subfield of Business, Management and Accounting. Science Explorer counts 501k research works in it since 1950. 18.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: measurement, processing and communication of financial information about economic entities.

Research works
501k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
93k
per year above
Top-10% rate
18.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
22
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+44%
the tick is no change

What is Accounting research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Corporate Governance, Capital Structure, Risk Management, Finance, Islamic Banking, Financial Constraints. Gaining share since 2009–13: Accounting Information Systems, Small and Medium Enterprises, Investment Analysis, Portfolio Management, Corporate Finance. Losing share: Financial Crisis, Social Responsibility, Mergers and Acquisitions, Investor Protection.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Corporate Governance100k▲ 1.19×8 topics
  2. Capital Structure39k◆ 1.03×2 topics
  3. Risk Management30k▲ 2.2×2 topics
  4. Finance29k▲ 2.8×1 topic
  5. Islamic Banking29k▲ 2.8×1 topic
  6. Financial Constraints29k▼ 0.73×2 topics
  7. Financial Reporting28k▼ 0.72×5 topics
  8. Mergers and Acquisitions26k▼ 0.60×2 topics
  9. Corporate Finance23k▲ 4.2×2 topics
  10. Profitability23k▲ 4.2×2 topics
  11. Investor Protection23k▼ 0.63×1 topic
  12. Ownership Structure23k▼ 0.63×1 topic
  13. Financial Analysis22k▲ 3.5×2 topics
  14. Investment Analysis17k▲ 8.0×1 topic
  15. Portfolio Management17k▲ 8.0×1 topic
  16. Financial Literacy16k▲ 1.65×2 topics
  17. International Financial Reporting Standards13k▼ 0.75×2 topics
  18. Audit Committee12k▼ 0.76×1 topic
  19. Earnings Management12k▼ 0.76×1 topic
  20. Tax Avoidance11k▼ 0.66×2 topics
  21. Social Responsibility9,954▼ 0.57×4 topics
  22. Accounting Information Systems8,292▲ 21×1 topic
  23. Small and Medium Enterprises8,292▲ 21×1 topic
  24. Risk Assessment8,183◆ 1.11×2 topics
  25. Household Finance7,799▼ 0.83×1 topic
  26. Retirement Planning7,799▼ 0.83×1 topic
  27. Corporate Tax7,357▼ 0.83×1 topic
  28. Incentives7,357▼ 0.83×1 topic
  29. Financial Performance6,686▲ 1.78×2 topics
  30. Competitiveness6,527◆ 1.01×2 topics
  31. Trade Credit6,100▲ 1.79×1 topic
  32. Working Capital Management6,100▲ 1.79×1 topic
  33. Start-Up Firms5,773▼ 0.63×1 topic
  34. Venture Capital5,773▼ 0.63×1 topic
  35. Financial Distress5,443▼ 0.66×2 topics
  36. Economic Impact Evaluation4,885▲ 1.22×1 topic
  37. Productivity Indicators4,885▲ 1.22×1 topic
  38. Financial Crisis4,253▼ 0.44×3 topics
  39. Derivatives4,000▼ 0.67×1 topic
  40. Hedging4,000▼ 0.67×1 topic

Which countries lead Accounting research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and the United Kingdom rank highest in Accounting. By volume, Indonesia and the United States publish the most (47k and 12k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #3 all time 35.7% top 10% · 9.4k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 21.5% top 10% · 12k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #2 all time 28.8% top 10% · 3.2k works
  4. 4 Indonesia · #8 all time 5.4% top 10% · 47k works
  5. 5 India · #13 all time 16.5% top 10% · 5.2k works
  6. 6 Italy · #7 all time 31.5% top 10% · 1.5k works
  7. 7 Malaysia · #12 all time 14.8% top 10% · 4.4k works
  8. 8 Jordan · #18 all time 37.9% top 10% · 707 works
  9. 9 Australia · #6 all time 28.1% top 10% · 1.8k works
  10. 10 Germany · #4 all time 20.6% top 10% · 1.9k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 66 countries ranked in Accounting. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Accounting

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Indonesia 47k works
  2. 2 United States 12k works
  3. 3 China 9.4k works
  4. 4 India 5.2k works
  5. 5 Malaysia 4.4k works
  6. 6 United Kingdom 3.2k works
  7. 7 Türkiye 2.8k works
  8. 8 Nigeria 2.6k works
  9. 9 ?? 2.2k works
  10. 10 Germany 1.9k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

Indonesia: 52.1%United States: 12.9%China: 10.4%India: 5.8%6 others listed: 18.8%52%largest
Indonesia47k · 52.1%United States12k · 12.9%China9,352 · 10.4%India5,208 · 5.8%6 others listed17k · 18.8%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Accounting research?

Central University of Finance and Economics (China) ranks first in Accounting on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Renmin University of China and Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Central University of Finance and Economics China · Beijing · #74 all time 37.3% top 10% · 195 works
  2. 2 Renmin University of China China · Beijing · #53 all time 40.3% top 10% · 183 works
  3. 3 Southwestern University of Finance and Economics China · Chengdu · #93 all time 37.6% top 10% · 218 works
  4. 4 Xi'an Jiaotong University China · Xi'an · #95 all time 49.0% top 10% · 128 works
  5. 5 Zhongnan University of Economics and Law China · Wuhan 42.6% top 10% · 161 works
  6. 6 University of International Business and Economics China · Beijing 38.4% top 10% · 133 works
  7. 7 University of Business and Technology Saudi Arabia · Jeddah 39.1% top 10% · 116 works
  8. 8 Airlangga University Indonesia · Surabaya 16.7% top 10% · 479 works
  9. 9 Capital University of Economics and Business China · Beijing 41.5% top 10% · 104 works
  10. 10 Xiamen University China · Xiamen 44.0% top 10% · 151 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 389 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Accounting.

Top 100 Accounting institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Universitas Patria Artha Indonesia 1.5k works
  2. 2 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia 1.2k works
  3. 3 Universitas Pamulang Indonesia 1k works
  4. 4 Universitas Trisakti Indonesia 968 works
  5. 5 Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Indonesia 825 works
  6. 6 Tarumanagara University Indonesia 784 works
  7. 7 University of Brawijaya Indonesia 688 works
  8. 8 Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia 684 works
  9. 9 University of Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jawa Timur Indonesia 601 works
  10. 10 University of Indonesia Indonesia 576 works

Who are the leading researchers in Accounting?

Among the most productive authors in Accounting, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Juan Ramón De La Fuente and Richard Blundell rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Joseph E. Stiglitz United States · #43 worldwide 7.4k citations · 383 works
  2. 2 Juan Ramón De La Fuente Mexico · #61 worldwide 1.5k citations · 228 works
  3. 3 Richard Blundell United Kingdom · #129 worldwide 5.2k citations · 140 works
  4. 4 Lawrence H. Summers United States · #195 worldwide 3.9k citations · 125 works
  5. 5 Ben Bernanke United States · #440 worldwide 2.7k citations · 195 works
  6. 6 Allen N. Berger United States · #466 worldwide 3.4k citations · 133 works
  7. 7 René M. Stulz United States · #485 worldwide 4.4k citations · 112 works
  8. 8 Raghuram G. Rajan United States · #583 worldwide 3.5k citations · 102 works
  9. 9 Robert S. Kaplan United States · #600 worldwide 2.1k citations · 115 works
  10. 10 Robert E. Hall United States · #724 worldwide 2.3k citations · 108 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 4,193 highest-output authors in Accounting. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Accounting researchers

Where is Accounting research done?

The largest centres of Accounting research in 2022–2025 are Jakarta (Indonesia), Bandung (Indonesia), Surabaya (Indonesia) and Makassar (Indonesia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Parkes, Banten and Bokkos.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Jakarta Indonesia 6.9k works
  2. 2 Bandung Indonesia 3.2k works
  3. 3 Surabaya Indonesia 3k works
  4. 4 Makassar Indonesia 2.8k works
  5. 5 Medan Indonesia 2.8k works
  6. 6 Yogyakarta Indonesia 2k works
  7. 7 Malang Indonesia 1.9k works
  8. 8 Semarang Indonesia 1.8k works
  9. 9 Beijing China 1.8k works
  10. 10 Tangerang Indonesia 1.6k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. ParkesAU · 35.8 works26×
  2. BantenID · 157.6 works22×
  3. BokkosNG · 27.8 works18×
  4. SanadRS · 39.1 works15×
  5. JitraMY · 317.0 works14×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Accounting than the world average.

See Accounting on the map

Accounting research by country

The best places for Accounting research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Accounting?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Business and Technology, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and Northern University of Malaysia score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 29.72%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →University of Business and Technology: 116, 39.1%University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City: 81, 42.5%Northern University of Malaysia: 317, 17.9%Southwestern University of Finance and Economics: 218, 37.6%National Economics University: 76, 33.8%Universitas Patria Artha: 1,461, 3.7%Universitas Trisakti: 968, 4.3%Central University of Finance and Economics: 195, 37.3%Zhongnan University of Economics and Law: 161, 42.6%University of International Business and Economics: 133, 38.4%University of Econom…University of Busine…Southwestern Univers…Northern University …
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1University of Business and Technology Saudi Arabia 71.639.1%9.8×116 +142.3%
2University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 65.742.5%8.3×81 +241.9%
3Northern University of Malaysia Malaysia 64.317.9%14.1×317 +209.4%
4Southwestern University of Finance and Economics China 64.137.6%12.1×218 +54.9%
5National Economics University Vietnam 63.033.8%10.7×76 +769.9%
6Universitas Patria Artha Indonesia 62.33.7%14.8×1,461 +995.1%
7Universitas Trisakti Indonesia 60.44.3%18.2×968 +531.0%
8Central University of Finance and Economics China 60.037.3%13.5×195 +10.4%
9Zhongnan University of Economics and Law China 59.442.6%12.6×161 -34.8%
10University of International Business and Economics China 59.038.4%11.0×133 +10.3%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Accounting research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 44% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Financial Literacy and Behavior, Financial Analysis and Corporate Governance and Banking Sector Performance and Management.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Financial Literacy and Behavior+4077%
  2. Financial Analysis and Corporate Governance+2460%
  3. Banking Sector Performance and Management+922%
  4. Islamic Finance and Banking Studies+669%
  5. Working Capital and Financial Performance+385%
  6. Business, Education, Mathematics Research+284%
  7. Business Law and Ethics-9%
  8. Banking Systems and Strategies-23%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Accounting include?

Corporate Finance and Go…93kCorporate Finance and Governance: 93k fractional worksIslamic Finance and Banking Studies: 69k fractional worksAuditing, Earnings Management, Governance: 45k fractional worksFinancial Analysis and Corporate Governance: 34k fractional worksFinancial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis: 31k fractional worksCorporate Taxation and Avoidance: 29k fractional worksPrivate Equity and Venture Capital: 24k fractional worksFinancial Literacy and Behavior: 20k fractional worksLaw, logistics, and international trade: 20k fractional worksTaxation and Legal Issues: 19k fractional worksBusiness, Education, Mathematics Research: 16k fractional worksWorking Capital and Financial Performance: 16k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.