Undisclosed conflict of interest in a submitted manuscript

This flowchart offers editors a step-by-step process on handling cases where a potential conflict of interest is suspected during the reviewing process.

Key points

• At the time of submission an author may have declared no potential conflicts of interest or an incomplete list.
• If authors are unsure of the nature of competing interests the journal should provide them with a copy of their conflicts of interest policy.
• The journal should obtain a signed or confirmed conflicts of interest statement clarifying the author’s position before proceeding further with review.
• The author's institution should be involved when the author denies an alleged conflict of interest or to inform an institution in cases of suspected misconduct.
• Always obtain signed a conflicts of interest statement from authors before reviewing begins.

Related resources

• Undisclosed conflict of interest in a published article, COPE flowchart
• Retraction Guidelines, COPE guidelines
• Handling competing interests, COPE discussion document
• Editorial conflicts of interest, COPE Forum discussion 2022