Financial Restatements Declined Steeply Last Year

The number of financial restatements from companies fell nearly 14 percent last year to the lowest number since 2002, according to a new report.

The report, from the research firm Audit Analytics, found that after six years of relatively stable restatement counts, the quantity of total restatements disclosed in 2015 dropped by about 13.8 percent (compared to 2014) to a total of 737, the lowest total since 2002.

For the past nine years, reissuance restatements have declined and have now reached the lowest number since the 8-K disclosure requirement came into effect in 2004. In 2015, revision restatements equaled approximately 76.2 percent of the restatements disclosed by 10-K filers. This percentage is the same as the prior year and is tied for the highest percentage calculated since the disclosure requirement came into effect.

After four years of increases in the number of accelerated filers that disclosed restatements, the upward trend ended when the total dropped from 353 companies in 2014 to 264 in 2015. The non-accelerated filer count also decreased.

During 2015, approximately 55.2 percent (218 out of 395) of the restatements disclosed by publicly traded companies (on Amex, NASDAQ or the NYSE) had no impact on earnings, the second highest during the last nine years reviewed.

The average number of days restated (the restatement period) was 498 days during 2015, the third lowest amount in the last 15 years reviewed.