The Journal of Cost Management (J. Cost Manag.) is committed to maintaining a rigorous, fair, and constructive peer-review process. Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the academic quality, originality, and integrity of the journal's published research. The journal follows a single-blind peer-review process, in which the identity of the reviewer remains confidential while the authors' identity is known to the reviewer.

1. Role of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to provide an objective, independent, and constructive assessment of submitted manuscripts. Their evaluation assists the Editor and Editorial Board in making informed publication decisions and helps authors improve the quality and clarity of their work.

Reviewers should assess manuscripts based on factors including:

• Originality and significance of the research
• Relevance to the scope of the journal
• Clarity of the research objectives and questions
• Appropriateness and rigor of the methodology
• Quality and reliability of data and analysis
• Validity of findings and conclusions
• Organization, clarity, and academic presentation
• Adequacy and relevance of references
• Contribution to existing knowledge
• Compliance with research and publication ethics

2. Single-Blind Peer Review

The Journal of Cost Management uses a single-blind peer-review system. Under this process, the reviewer is provided with the identity of the authors, while the reviewer's identity is not disclosed to the authors.

Reviewers must not attempt to communicate their identity to authors or disclose confidential information about the review process.

3. Confidentiality

All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, copy, distribute, discuss, or use unpublished information from a manuscript for personal or professional purposes without appropriate authorization.

Reviewers should destroy or delete manuscript files and review-related materials after completing the review when requested by the journal.

4. Conflict of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting an assignment. A reviewer should decline the invitation if personal, professional, financial, institutional, or other relationships could affect their impartiality.

Reviewers should also inform the Editorial Office if they recognize the authors or identify circumstances that may compromise the objectivity of their assessment.

5. Becoming a Reviewer

Researchers and academic professionals with relevant expertise are welcome to express their interest in joining the journal's reviewer database. Prospective reviewers should have appropriate academic or professional expertise in areas relevant to the journal's scope.

Interested researchers may contact the Editorial Office and provide:

• Full name
• Academic qualification
• Institutional affiliation
• Areas of research expertise
• Professional biography or CV
• ORCID or other relevant researcher identifiers
• Previous reviewing or publishing experience, where applicable

Reviewer Contact: editor@jcostm.com

Selection as a reviewer is based on subject expertise, academic or professional qualifications, research experience, and the journal's current reviewing requirements.

6. Guide for Peer Reviewers

Reviewers are encouraged to follow a structured approach when evaluating a manuscript:

Initial Assessment:
Determine whether the manuscript falls within the scope of the Journal of Cost Management and whether it meets basic academic and ethical requirements.

Overall Quality:
Assess the originality, importance, and potential contribution of the research to cost management and related fields.

Methodology:
Evaluate whether the research design, methods, data collection, analysis, and statistical or analytical techniques are appropriate and sufficiently explained.

Results and Discussion:
Assess whether the results are clearly presented, logically interpreted, and adequately supported by the evidence.

References:
Evaluate whether relevant and current literature has been appropriately considered and cited.

Presentation:
Comment on the organization, clarity, language, tables, figures, and overall presentation of the manuscript.

Ethical Considerations:
Identify any concerns relating to plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate authorship, conflicts of interest, or other potential forms of research or publication misconduct.

7. Reviewer Comments

Reviewer comments should be professional, respectful, specific, and constructive. Reviewers should clearly distinguish between major concerns that affect the validity or publication of the manuscript and minor issues that can be addressed through revision.

Personal, offensive, discriminatory, or unnecessarily discourteous comments are not appropriate.

8. Recommendation

After completing the evaluation, reviewers should provide a recommendation to the Editor based on the quality and suitability of the manuscript. Possible recommendations may include:

• Accept
• Minor Revision
• Major Revision
• Reject

The final publication decision remains the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief and/or Editorial Board.

9. Timely Review

Reviewers are requested to complete reviews within the timeframe specified by the Editorial Office. If a reviewer is unable to complete an assigned review within the required period, they should promptly inform the Editorial Office so that alternative arrangements can be considered.

10. Ethical Standards

The Journal of Cost Management expects reviewers to follow recognized principles of publication ethics and research integrity, including relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Reviewers should maintain confidentiality, declare conflicts of interest, provide unbiased assessments, and report any serious ethical concerns to the Editorial Office.

The journal appreciates the valuable contribution of reviewers whose expertise and constructive feedback help maintain the quality, credibility, and integrity of the scholarly record.