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Using the Adjustment database
Who is this article for?
Users who want to learn about the Adjustment database.
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The Audit Analytics Out of Period Adjustments database covers all SEC registrants who have disclosed an immaterial correction of an error in prior financial statements that do not materially affect past or present financials.
Due to the assessment of immateriality, out of period adjustments do not require a restatement of the prior financials and are recorded as a one-time change (benefit) in the current period. [Rule: ASC 250]
Per SEC requirements, this includes all '33 and '34 Act filers.
1. Common uses
- Uncover error corrections buried in footnotes
- Benchmark severity of adjustments against companies with similar accounting issues
- Filter by impact on net income, accounting issues, industry, and more for all out of period adjustments filed since 2009
- Easily identify adjustments involving SEC investigations, accounting rule (GAAP/FASB) application failures, financial fraud, irregularities, misinterpretations, errors, and other significant issues
- Key data points include auditor of record, adjustment period, impact on income and equity, and the text of the disclosure
The Out of Period Adjustments database is available online and as data feeds [Feed39] with the relevant subscription.
- Saved Search Alert: Yes
- Daily Summary Email: No
2. Collection methodology
- This data is sourced from the following form types: 8-K, 8-K/A, 10-Q, 10-Q/A, 10-K, 10-K/A, 20-F, 20-F/A, 40-F, and 40-F/A
- We also have historical filing coverage of forms 10KSB and 10KSB/A
3. Searching
The Out of Period Adjustments search page offers the following filters:
| Name | Description | Data dictionary field(s) | Sortable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effect | Filter by whether the net effect to the financial statements was positive or negative | Effect | No |
| Search by keyword | Search for opinion containing keyword | N/A | No |
| Filter by auditor | Filter for a specific auditor or group of auditors. Options include:
| Auditor – Current Auditor – At Disclosure Date Auditor – During Restated Period Auditor – Opinion Period End During Restated Period | Yes |
| Search by ticker or CIK code | Filter results to a specific population | CIK Code, Ticker | Yes |
| SEC investigation | Filter by whether the adjustment disclosure identified SEC investigation of the registrant | SEC Investigation | No |
| Market index | Filter for Market Index | N/A | No |
| Filter by issues | Select any or all | Accounting Rule (GAAP/FASB) Application Failures Financial Fraud, Irregularities and Misrepresentations Errors – Accounting and Clerical Applications Other Significant Issues | No |
| Market cap | Filter by a range of companies’ market caps | MR – Market Cap ($), H – Market Cap ($) | Yes |
| Revenue | Filter by a range of companies’ revenue | MR – Revenue ($), H – Revenue ($) | Yes |
| Net income (+/-) | Filter by net income | MR – Earnings ($) | No |
| Stockholder equity (+/-) | Filter by stockholder equity | Cumulative Change in Stockholder Equity | No |
| Search industries | Filter by companies’ industry(s) | SIC Code, NAICS Code | No |
| Company location | Filter by current business address location(s) | State Name, State Code, Region, County, City | Yes |
| Date file | Filter by a range of restatements to return on filing dates | Disclosure Date | Yes |
| Restated period begin | Filter by restated period begin | N/A | No |
| Restated period end | Filter by restated period end | N/A | No |
4. Results
- Results can be viewed at the bottom of the page.
- The following resources are available via hyperlinks:
- Download the Out of Period Adjustments Data Dictionary
- Download CSV files of results
- All fields in the CSV are defined in the Data Dictionary
- Overview of individual company profiles
- Auditor profiles
- Filing type (opens the opinion text for a given entry)
- All opinions for a given company are available on its overview profile
5. Additional information
Out of Period Adjustments vs. Restatements
- An out of period adjustment occurs when a company discovers an immaterial error and corrects it in the current period rather than the period in which the error originally occurred.
- The key difference between a "little r" restatement (see Restatements documentation) and an out of period adjustment is that the latter does not affect prior financial statements.
- The company does not restate its prior period financial statements.
- These adjustments involve errors that are immaterial to both current and previously filed financial statements.
- The errors are corrected as an aggregate adjustment in the current period, with no revision of previously filed financial statements required.
- This type of error correction is also known as an out of period adjustment.
- The errors are corrected as an aggregate adjustment in the current period, with no revision of previously filed financial statements required.
- The key difference between a "little r" restatement (see Restatements documentation) and an out of period adjustment is that the latter does not affect prior financial statements.