Back in March, we announced the release of the Accounting Quality + Risk Matrix (AQRM) to subscribers of Audit Analytics. AQRM is an interactive tool designed to quickly identify and understand qualitative and contextual indicators of governance and reporting quality. Red … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: September 2015
Audit Firm Membership in Associations, Networks, and Alliances
Small Audit Firm Membership in Associations, Networks, and Alliances: Implications for Audit Quality and Audit Fees, an academic paper written by Kenneth L. Bills, Lauren M. Cunningham, and Linda A. Myers, examines membership in networks and alliances. The authors find evidence that smaller … Continue reading
2014 SEC Filing Highlights, Part 2 of 2
This week we present the second installment of our inaugural SEC filing highlights blog, in which we cover some of the unique and unusual events from the past year. In this one we look at Auditor Changes, Out of Period … Continue reading
Longest Comment Letter Conversations: A Five Year Analysis
In one of our recent posts, we noted that the average SEC comment letter conversation for 2014 consisted of 3.9 letters and lasted 48 days, significantly less than the 5 letters and 86 days we calculated for 2010. In this blog, we attempt to … Continue reading
REITs: Non-GAAP Measurements Face SEC Scrutiny
An article in today’s New York Times reports on a potentially troubling phenomenon of tech companies increasingly using non-GAAP numbers to promote financial performance. “Tech Companies Fly High on Fantasy Accounting“, quoting analysts and investors, further reports that the cumulative … Continue reading
Walmart Reports Material Weakness
In a 10-Q filed yesterday, September 9th, Walmart disclosed a significant deficiency that rose to the level of material weakness in its SOX Section 302 Disclosure Controls and Procedures assessment. The deficiency related to the company’s application of lease accounting. According to … Continue reading
2014 SEC Filing Highlights, Part 1 of 2
In this post we kick off what we hope will be an annual series. It is a full-year recap of some of the most notable SEC disclosures that we track: a “best-of-the-year” review. In this first post, we’ll look at the largest restatement; the … Continue reading