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The American Accounting Association (AAA) is a membership association for accounting educators, researchers, practitioners and students. This guide is for an accounting researcher or doctoral student deciding whether to join, which section fits, and which AAA journal to read or submit to. It is not about the automobile club that shares the abbreviation. Everything below is as described on the official AAA pages on 2026-11-08; membership terms and dues change, so confirm them on aaahq.org before paying.
What the American Accounting Association is and who runs it
The AAA describes itself as a global community where educators, researchers, practitioners and students convene and collaborate, linking accounting research, education and practice. Its site lists 17 sections (special-interest chapters), 17 AAA journals plus the open-access title Accounting Open, a digital library, continuing professional education (CPE), a career center, and an annual meeting (AAA Global Connect, listed for Las Vegas in 2026 and Orlando in 2027) alongside section midyear meetings.
Its history is documented on the association’s centennial page. A group of accounting teachers first met privately on 30 December 1915 at a meeting of the American Economic Association in Washington. The group was incorporated on 1 December 1916 in the District of Columbia as the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting, and held its first organizational meeting on 28 December 1916 in Columbus, Ohio. The page names John R. Wildman as the leading force rather than a single founder. Its stated early aims were closer ties among instructors, a forum on the field and its teaching, standardizing university accounting courses, and a policy for transferring students.
Who can join: membership categories
The membership page lists three categories:
- Full membership: faculty, researchers and practitioners. Retired members may be eligible for a discount through the association’s membership office.
- Two-Year College Faculty.
- Student: full-time doctoral, master’s or undergraduate students.
What membership includes and costs
Listed benefits are access to the Digital Library, discounted meeting registration, savings on journal submission fees, and CPE. One difference matters for planning: full members receive the Digital Library’s teaching notes, student members do not.
Dues depend on the category and on the member’s country, which the AAA assigns to a tier using World Bank gross national income per capita (the full tier list is on the AAA site). The membership page, for a membership year running through 31 May 2027, lists three amounts per category (the page states no currency):
| Category | Three dues amounts listed |
|---|---|
| Full | 325 / 75 / 40 |
| Two-Year College Faculty | 120 / 40 / 25 |
| Student | 100 / 25 / 15 |
How to join
The steps on the membership page are short: choose your country, then use the join button for your category. A printable paper form is also offered for submission to the association’s membership office. Typical phases are therefore (1) confirming your category, (2) confirming your country’s dues tier, (3) paying for the membership year, and (4) choosing sections, since the sections are separate special-interest communities within the association.
Sections and journals
The cross-walk below is the part most overviews skip. The AAA Sections page lists each section with its journals; four sections list none. The Journals page separately groups three titles as Association Journals: The Accounting Review, Accounting Horizons and Issues in Accounting Education, and lists Accounting Open in partnership with Elsevier, with submissions through ScienceDirect. Each journal has its own submission-information page under the AAA Research section.
| Section | Journal(s) listed on the Sections page |
|---|---|
| Academy of Accounting Historians | Accounting Historians Journal |
| Accounting Behavior and Organizations | Behavioral Research in Accounting |
| Accounting Information Systems | Journal of Information Systems |
| American Taxation Association | Journal of the American Taxation Association; ATA Journal of Legal Tax Research |
| Auditing | Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory; Current Issues in Auditing |
| Engagement, Access and Community | None listed |
| Financial Accounting and Reporting | Journal of Financial Reporting |
| Forensic Accounting | Journal of Forensic Accounting Research |
| Gender Issues and Worklife Balance | None listed |
| Government and Nonprofit | Journal of Governmental & Nonprofit Accounting |
| International Accounting | Journal of International Accounting Research |
| Leadership in Accounting Education | None listed |
| Management Accounting | Journal of Management Accounting Research |
| Public Interest, Ethics, and Sustainability | Accounting and the Public Interest |
| Strategic and Emerging Technologies | Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting |
| Teaching, Learning and Curriculum | None listed |
| Two-Year College | None listed |
Common mistakes
- Assuming a section equals a journal. Four sections have no journal listed, and the three Association Journals are grouped separately from the section titles.
- Ignoring the country tier. Dues vary by tier within each category, so compare the amounts for your own country, not the headline figure.
- Expecting student membership to match full membership. Teaching notes in the Digital Library are a full-member benefit.
- Mixing up the abbreviation. AAA here is the accounting association, not the motor club.
Related pages
| Topic | Where to read |
|---|---|
| Accounting as a research field, methods and funding | What is accounting research? |
| Finance as a research field | What is finance as a research field? |
| Management research | What is management research? |
| Journal rankings in business fields | ABDC journal list |
| How journal review works | Peer review explained |
FAQ
What is the American Accounting Association?
A membership association for accounting educators, researchers, practitioners and students, incorporated in 1916 in the District of Columbia under its original name, the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting.
How many journals does the AAA publish?
The Journals page lists 18 titles: 17 AAA journals and the open-access Accounting Open, published in partnership with Elsevier.
Can students join?
Yes. A student category exists for full-time doctoral, master’s and undergraduate students, at the lowest listed dues in each tier.
Does membership reduce submission fees?
The membership page lists submission fee savings among the benefits.
Sources
- AAA, About, read 2026-11-08.
- AAA, How it began (Centennial), read 2026-11-08.
- AAA, Sections, read 2026-11-08.
- AAA, Journals, read 2026-11-08.
- AAA, Membership, read 2026-11-08.
