A government watchdog agency says some companies are still remiss in disclosing restatement announcements despite stricter rules about publicizing such news, and is calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission both to clarify its requirements for Form 8-K filings and to investigate potential noncompliance.
In a report issued last week, the Government Accountability Office said it scrutinized restatement announcements in 2004 and 2005 and found that some companies failed to disclose the information under the appropriate item on Form 8-K, or didn’t file an 8-K at all. That errant behavior comes despite SEC rules issued in 2004 requiring all companies to file a specific line item (Item 4.02) on Form 8-K within four days of management or external auditors determining that previously reported financial statements were no longer reliable.
