Audit Analytics has completed its nine-year analysis of financial restatements. The report, which has been cited in several prominent publications, tracks financial restatements filed by SEC registrants since the year 2001. Certain trends analyzed within the report seem to indicate that the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFRs) has been beneficial. Some highlights of the report are:

For the third year in a row, the total number of restatements in 2009 declined, falling by 27% from 2008.

For the third year in a row, Audit Analytics found an equivalence or reduction in the severity of the restatements:

• The restatements with the largest negative impact on net income dropped from $605 million in 2008 to $357 million in 2009.
• The average cumulative impact on net income per restatement dropped from $7.1 million in 2008 to $4.6 million in 2009.
• The average number of days restated dropped from 510 in 2008 to 476 in 2009.
• The average number of issues per restatement dropped from 1.67 in 2008 to 1.48 in 2009

The full report is now available to subscribers. For more information please email us at info@auditanalytics.com or call (508) 476-7007.