New article
Recently updated
Using the Restatements database
Who is this article for?
Users who want to learn about the Restatements database.
No elevated permissions are required.
The Audit Analytics Restatements dataset covers all SEC registrants who have disclosed a financial statement in electronic filings since 1 January 2000. Includes non-reliance (Big R) + revision (little r)
Per SEC requirements this includes all '33 and '34 Act filers.
1. Common uses
- Benchmark accounting quality by industry, peer group, market cap, etc.
- Identify financial restatements by severity – revision statements vs. reissuance restatements
- Filter financial restatements by impact on income and retained earnings, regulator (DOJ/SEC) involvement, industry, and location
- Identify auditor of record at disclosure date, during the period restated and opinion period end during restated period
- Analyze common reasons for financial restatements, including revenue recognition, GAAP failures, financial fraud, and accounting issues
The Restatements database is available online, through WRDS, and through data feeds [Feed39] with the relevant subscription.
- Saved Search Alert: Yes
- Daily Summary Email: Yes
2. Collection methodology
- The Restatements dataset covers all SEC registrants (foreign and domestic).
- The data is sourced from the following form types: 8-K Item 4.02, 8-K/A Item 4.02, 10-K, 10-Q, 10-Q/A, 10-K/A, 20-F, 20-F/A, 40-F, and 40-F/A's.
- We also have historical filing coverage of forms 10KSB and 10KSB/A
- The data is sourced from the following form types: 8-K Item 4.02, 8-K/A Item 4.02, 10-K, 10-Q, 10-Q/A, 10-K/A, 20-F, 20-F/A, 40-F, and 40-F/A's.
3. Searching
The Restatements search page offers the following filters:
| Name | Description | Data Dictionary Field(s) | Sort By? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filter by Auditor | Filter by restatement for a specific auditor or group of auditors
| Auditor | Yes [only by Disclosure Date] |
| Search by Ticker or CIK Code | Filter results to a specific population | CIK Code Ticker
| Yes |
| Search by Keyword | Search for restatement containing keywords | N/A | No |
Effect
| Indicates whether the net effect to the financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, or cash flows) was positive or negative | Effect | No |
| Has Reissuance | Filter by restatements that have an 8-K Item 4.02 | N/A | No |
| Market Index | Filter for principal exchange | Market | No |
| SEC Investigation | Indicates SEC involvement in the restatement process is noted | SEC Investigation | No |
| Restatement Taxonomies | Select any or all restatement taxonomies to include:
| Refer to “Restatement Taxonomy” tab | No |
| Market Cap | Filter by a range of market capitalization as of stock price date | H – Market Cap ($) | Yes |
| Revenue | Filter by a range of most recent fiscal year’s total revenue based on disclosure date | H – Revenue ($) | Yes |
| Net Income (+/-) | Filter by the aggregate impact of the restatement | Cumulative Change in Net Income (USD) | No |
| Stockholder Equity (+/-) | Filter by the aggregate impact of the restatement on stockholders’ equity | Cumulative Change in Stockholder Equity (USD) | No |
| Company Location | Filter by current business address location(s) | State Name Region County | No |
| Search Industries | Filter by companies’ industry(s) | N/A | No |
| File Date | Filter by a range of file dates | Source Date | Yes |
| Restated Period Begin | Filter by period beginning date for which the registrant is restating | Restated Period Begin | No |
| Restated Period End | Filter by period ending date for which the registrant is restating | Restated Period Ended | No |
4. Results
- Results can be viewed at the bottom of the page.
- The following are accessible through clicking the respective hyperlinks:
- Restatements Data Dictionary download
- CSV file downloads of the results
- All fields available in the CSV are defined in the Data Dictionary
- Overview of individual companies’ profile
- Auditor profiles
- Filing type (opens the restatement text for a given entry)
- All restatement texts of a given company are available for viewing on the company’s overview profile.
5. Additional information
- Restatement text is available with a Data Feeds subscription, WRDS access, or as a custom request.
- Types of Restatements:
- Non-Reliance Restatements
- Material errors that affect the reliability of prior financial statements.
- Companies must restate previous financial statements to correct these errors.
- An 8-K Item 4.02 must be filed to warn investors that prior statements may no longer be reliable.
- This is referred to as a "Big R" restatement.
- An 8-K Item 4.02 must be filed to warn investors that prior statements may no longer be reliable.
- Companies must restate previous financial statements to correct these errors.
- Material errors that affect the reliability of prior financial statements.
- Revision Restatements
- Errors that are immaterial to past financial statements but material to current ones.
- Corrected by revising previous financial statements.
- This is known as a "Little r" restatement.
- No 8-K disclosure is needed as these adjustments do not affect the reliability of past statements.
- Typically involves a series of immaterial adjustments over time.
- Corrected by revising previous financial statements.
- Errors that are immaterial to past financial statements but material to current ones.
- Non-Reliance Restatements
- Reasons for blank cumulative impacts on net income and stockholders’ equity:
- We only evaluate NYSE or NASDAQ traded companies.
- Historical coverage for AMEX traded companies.
- We do not assess financial impacts for OTCBB or unlisted companies.
- The restatement did not impact net income or stockholders’ equity.
- For example: cash flow statement restatements.
- The company delisted without revealing the financial impact of the restatement.
- For recent restatements, the financial impact is still unknown.
- We only evaluate NYSE or NASDAQ traded companies.