Who is this article for?

Users working with financial restatements.

Restatement subscription is required.

A financial restatement is a revision of previously filed financial statements resulting from an error, fraud, or misapplication of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or foreign principles.

This article answers the most commonly asked questions related to financial restatments.

What is a restatement type?

Ideagen Audit Analytics tracks three types of restatements available across the platform and data feeds:

• Non-Reliance Restatements - Disclosed via 8-K Item 4.02 "Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements". These are the most serious error corrections, also known as "Big R" restatements
• Revision Restatements - Disclosed in periodic filings without an 8-K Item 4.02. Also known as "little r" restatements.
• Out-of-Period Adjustments - Corrections recorded in the current period rather than restating prior periods. On the platform, OOPA has its own search page separate from the Restatements search

Note

Feed 39 also contains two additional historical types (SAB 108 and FIN 48 restatements). These represent historical data from a one-off research project and are not recommended for use. They are excluded from the web platform.

For detailed field definitions, refer to the Restatements data dictionary.

What is the difference between Big R and little r restatements?

These are informal terms used to distinguish restatements by severity:

• Big R restatements are non-reliance restatements, disclosed in an 8-K Item 4.02 filing ("Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements or a Related Audit Report or Completed Interim Review"). These indicate that previously issued financial statements should no longer be relied upon
• Little r restatements are revisions, disclosed only in periodic filings (10-K, 10-Q, etc.) without an 8-K Item 4.02. These are corrections that do not rise to the level of non-reliance

In Ideagen Audit Analytics data, Big R restatements have a value in the Date of 8-K Item 4.02 field. Little r restatements do not.

What is an out-of-period adjustment?

Out-of-period adjustments are corrections to accounting errors that are recorded in the current period rather than restating prior-period financial statements. They are distinct from restatements - an adjustment corrects an error prospectively, whilst a restatement revises previously issued financials.

On the platform, out-of-period adjustments has its own search page separate from the Restatements search. In Feed 39, both restatements and adjustments are included in the same feed and can be distinguished using the restatement type field.

How are restatements categorised?

Restatements are classified into four high-level categories based on the nature of the accounting error:

• Accounting Rule (GAAP/FASB) Application Failures - Errors resulting from the incorrect application of accounting standards
• Financial Fraud, Irregularities, and Misrepresentations - Errors involving intentional deception or misrepresentation by management or employees
• Errors in Accounting and Clerical Applications - Errors resulting from mistakes in accounting processes, calculations, or clerical work
• Other Significant Issues - Issues that do not fit the above categories, including material weakness and Section 404/302 issues, capital adequacy, loan covenant violations, and audit-related restatements

Within each category, detailed taxonomy classifications identify the specific nature of the error. For taxonomy definitions, refer to the Restatements data dictionary and search guide.

How can I access restatement data feeds?

Feed 39 is the current standard feed for all restatement data. It includes all restatement types, financial impact fields, issue taxonomy, and auditor details.

Feed 09 (which contained only non-reliance restatements) and Feed 24 (which contained advanced restatement fields) have both been retired and fully merged into Feed 39. If you are still referencing Feed 09 or Feed 24 in your integration, contact support@auditanalytics.com to migrate to Feed 39.

Feed 39 supporting tables include restatement_filings.txt (all filings associated with a restatement event), restatement_periods.txt (impact broken out by quarter or year), and restatement_auditor_period.txt (auditor details during restated periods). Feed 39 is available in both Standard and Point-in-Time formats.

How can I identify unique restatements?

To identify unique restatements and avoid duplicates, use RESTATEMENT_NOTIFICATION_KEY as the unique identifier for each restatement event.

Multiple filings may reference the same restatement. These are not duplicates but rather the chain of filings associated with that event (for example, the initial 8-K Item 4.02, followed by a 10-K/A with the restated financials).

To see all filings associated with a specific restatement, use the restatement_filings.txt supporting table in Feed 39, joined on RESTATEMENT_NOTIFICATION_KEY (main feed) to RESTATEMENT_NOTIFICATION_FKEY (supporting table).

Further reading

• Understanding restatement types