Fifty Years of the Accounting Historians Journal: A Bibliometric Overview

The Accounting Historians Journal (AHJ) holds a prominent position as one of the pioneering international journals dedicated to the study of accounting history. Inaugurated in 1977, AHJ assumed the role previously held by its predecessor The Accounting Historian. Consequently, 2023 is its 50th anniversary, presenting an opportunity to share its origins and evolution over time. This study provides an overview of AHJ since its foundation, using bibliometric analysis based on similarity visualization from the VOSViewer software. It also uses citation analysis, cocitation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and co-occurrence analysis. The bibliometric analysis reveals four clusters centered on the following topics: Financial Reporting, Accountability, and Auditing; Luca Pacioli and Double-Entry Bookkeeping; Accounting Profession and Accounting Education; Taxation and Accounting Standards. Biographies are a subfield that was not captured by the co-occurrence analysis. This paper systematizes a scholarly understanding of AHJ to pinpoint key research domains and suggest potential directions for AHJ.