Monthly Archives: February 2016

MyLogIQ Fact Study

Analysis of 10-K Filing Dates & Auditor Opinion Date

By using data retrieved from MyLogIQ, we were able to compile this analysis about filing dates for annual reports with a perspective on auditor opinion date, for all public companies. This study is based on annual reports as filed in the year 2015 for FYE in 2014. We will publish updates to this report when the annual reports for the majority of the companies FYE 2015 are filed in 2016.

Summary of Findings:
• Average number of days it takes a Large accelerator to file 10-K: 55 days
• Average number of days it takes an auditor to sign off (based on audit opinion date) for large accelerated filer: 55 days
• 16% of Large companies have their FYE outside of December, yet the average number of days to file (54) is only one day less.
• Fastest filing for FYE Dec. 31, 2015 is 27 days after FYE by filer United Rentals, Inc. (Ticker: URI) and filer Schlumberger, Ltd. (Ticker: SLB), while it was 21 days for FYE Dec 31, 2014. Which was also filed by United Rentals, Inc. (TICKER: URI).
• Within 30 Days after a Dec. 31st FYE, 7 companies filed their 10-K in 2016 vs 8 for FYE 2014.
• Auditors sometimes make mistakes and send in the auditor’s report signed before the FYE of the registrant.
• Majority of the Non-Accelerated filers don’t file their XBRL along with their 10-K (in html).

 

Overall picture of Annual report filing for all public companies:

On average it took Large Accelerated Filer companies 55 days from the fiscal year end to the audit opinion date, coinciding exactly with the average days it took Large Accelerated Filer companies to file their 10-Ks. We see this pattern continue with the other filers as well in the following table.

No. of Days Between 2014 FYE and Opinion Date
(days taken to file 10-K with the SEC)

Large Accelerated Filers

Accelerated Filers Non-Accelerated Filers Smaller Reporting Companies
55 (55) 69 (69) 73 (75) 97 (99)

 

Only 16% of Large Accelerated Filer companies don’t have their fiscal year end date fall in December. On average, it confirms auditors need 54-55 days to review a company’s annual financials (LAF). It raises the question, how are some giants like Schlumberger, Netflix, Amazon and Facebook getting their financials audited and filed within 30 days?

Filer Status

No. of Companies

(in %)

Average No. Of Days It Takes to Publish 10-K

(FYE = Dec)

No. of Companies

(in %)

Average No. Of Days It Takes to Publish 10-K

(FYE ≠ Dec)

Large Accelerated Filers

84% 55 16% 54

Accelerated Filers

80% 68 20%

73

Non-Accelerated Filers 89% 78 11%

81

Smaller Reporting Companies 66% 96 34%

105

 

Detailed Analysis by Filer Status

Large Accelerated Filer:
For FYE 2014, on average it took all Large Accelerated Filer companies 55 days to publish their annual reports, regardless. Although the fiscal year end date for all of these companies vary and are spread throughout the year, 84% of them have a fiscal year end of December 31st, making it an extremely busy season for both companies and auditors. While the SEC gives Large Accelerated Filers 60 days past their fiscal year end to publish their annual reports, there are some overachievers who managed to do it in 30 days or less.

No. of Large Accelerated Filer Companies who filed within 30 days whose Fiscal Year Ends on Dec. 31, 2014 = 8
No. of Large Accelerated Filer Companies who filed within 30 days whose Fiscal Year Ends on Dec. 31, 2015 = 7

The following table shows all of the Large Accelerated Filer companies with FYE December 31st in 2014 and in 2015 who filed in half the time (30 days) of the 60-day SEC filing deadline:

Fastest Large Accelerated Filer Companies Filing 10-K Whose Fiscal Year Ends on December 31st

2014

2015

Company

Days to File Company

Days to File

UNITED RENTALS INC /DE

21 SCHLUMBERGER LTD /NV/ 27

MDC HOLDINGS INC

28 UNITED RENTALS INC /DE

27

SCHLUMBERGER LTD /NV/

29 FACEBOOK INC

28

NETFLIX INC

29 NETFLIX INC

28

FACEBOOK INC 29 AMAZON COM INC

29

BROADCOM CORP

29 CAMERON INTERNATIONAL CORP

29

AMAZON COM INC

30 KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN

29

KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN

30

 

4

 

Accelerated Filers:
For FYE 2014, on average it took all Accelerated Filer companies 69 days to publish their annual reports. While the SEC gives Accelerated Filers 75 days past their fiscal year end to publish their annual reports, there are some overachievers who manage to do it in half the time.

No. of Accelerated Filer Companies who filed within 38 days whose Fiscal Year Ends on Dec. 31, 2014 = 6
No. of Accelerated Filer Companies who filed within 38 days whose Fiscal Year Ends on Dec. 31, 2015 = 5

The following table shows all of the Large Accelerated Filer companies with FYE December 31st in 2014 and in 2015 who filed in half the time (38 days) of the 75-day SEC filing deadline:

Fastest Accelerated Filer Companies in Filing 10-K Whose Fiscal Year Ends on December 31st

2014

2015

Company

Days to File Company

Days to File

FLOTEK INDUSTRIES INC/CN/

27 WL ROSS HOLDING CORP.

14

UNITIL CORP

28 VASCULAR SOLUTIONS, INC

22

VASCULAR SOLUTIONS INC

34 FLOTEK INDUSTRIES INC/CN/

27

CAMBREX CORP

37 UNITIL CORP

28

22nd CENTURY GROUP, INC

37 HAWAIIAN HOLDINGS, INC

39

FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, LTD

37

 

2a

 

Non- Accelerated Filers:
For FYE 2014, on average it took all Non-Accelerated Filer companies 75 days to publish their annual reports. While the SEC gives Non-Accelerated Filers 90 days past their fiscal year end to publish their annual reports, there are some overachievers who manage to do it in 45 days or less.

No. of Non-Accelerated Filer Companies who filed within 45 days whose Fiscal Year Ends on Dec. 31, 2014 = 20
No. of Non-Accelerated Filer Companies who filed within 45 days whose Fiscal Year Ends on Dec. 31, 2015 = 6 (As of Feb. 10, 2016)

The following table shows all of the Large Accelerated Filer companies with FYE December 31st in 2014 and in 2015 who filed in half the time (45 days) of the 90-day SEC filing deadline:

Fastest Non-Accelerated Filer Companies in Filing 10-K Whose Fiscal Year Ends on December 31st

2014

2015

Company

Days to File Company

Days to File

KANSAS CITY SOUTHER DE MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V.

30 PACE HOLDINGS CORP

26

GENERAL MOTORS FINANCIAL COMPANY, INC

35 MEDICAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INC

29

BIOMED REALTY L.P.

37 GENERAL MOTORS FINANCIAL COMPANY, INC

34

PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC Co

41 CNX COAL RESOURCES LP

36

HIGHWOODS REALTY LTD PARTNERSHIP

41 NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA, LLC

36

KILROY REALTY, L.P.

41 HIGHWOODS REALTY LTD PARTNERSHIPS

40

OWENS-ILLINOIS GROUP INC

41

CARETRUST REIT, INC

42

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN L.P.

43

TOBIRA THERAPEUTICS, INC

43

BALTIMORE GAS & ELECTRIC CO

44
COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO

44

DTE ELECTRIC CO

44

FORD MOTOR CREDIT CO LLC

44

PECO ENERGY CO

44

UNION CARBIDE CORP /NEW/

44

MLM INDEX FUND

44

EXELON GENERATION CO LLC

44

TROPICANA LAS VEGAS HOTEL & CASINO, INC

44
IMS HEALTH HOLDINGS, INC

44

 

2b

 

Smaller Reporting Companies:
For FYE 2014, on average it took all Smaller reporting companies 99 days to publish their annual reports, regardless. While the SEC gives Large small reporting Filers 90 days past their fiscal year end to publish their annual reports, there are some overachievers who manage to do it in 45 days or less.

No. of Smaller Reporting Companies who filed within 45 days whose Fiscal Year Ends on Dec. 31, 2014 = 18
No. of Smaller Reporting Companies who filed within 45 days whose Fiscal Year Ends on Dec. 31, 2015 = 12 (As of Feb. 10, 2016)

The following table shows all of the Smaller Reporting companies with FYE December 31st in 2014 and in 2015 who filed in half the time (45 days) of the 90-day SEC filing deadline:

Fastest Smaller Reporting Companies in Filing 10-K Whose Fiscal Year Ends on December 31st

2014

2015

Company

Days to File Company

Days to File

DIEGO PELLICER WORLDWIDE, INC

28 DUTCH OVEN GOLD GROUP, INC

27

COMSTOCK MINING, INC

29 RAMPART STUDIOS, INC

27

INFINITY ENERGY RESOURCES, INC

35 COMSTOCK MINING, INC

28

ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY INC

37 ANDES 9, INC

32

BOSTON OMAHA Corp

37 ANDES 8, INC 32

FUTURE HEALTH CARE OF AMERICA

37 HEADGEPATH PHARMACEUTICAL, INC

32

INUVO, INC 40 ANDES 7, INC

32

CORBUS PHARMACEUTICALS HOLDINGS, INC

41 YANGTZE RIVER DEVELOPMENT, LTD

33

SCI ENGINEERED MATERIALS, INC 42 PARAGON REAL ESTATE EQUITY & INVESTMENT TRUST

36

PARAGON REAL ESTATE EQUITY & INVESTMENT TRUST

42 LABSTYLE INNOVATIONS CORP

39

AKARI THERAPEUTICS PLC

42 SCI ENGINEERED MATERIAL, INC

40

GLOBAL SEAFOOD HOLDINGS CORP

43 TRANSACT ENERGY CORP

40

RVUE HOLDINGS, INC.

43
MEDIZONE INTERNATIONAL INC

44

HEDGEPATH PHARMACEUTICALS, INC

44
PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC

44

SEMLER SCIENTIFIC, INC

44
TRIUMPH VENTURES CORP

44

 

2c

 

Curious Public Accountant Errors:

We never thought we would find auditors making a mistake on their opinion date, but the table below shows the companies whose auditors signed off on their reports prior to the FYE. Are the auditors thinking ahead?

The following table lists the companies whose auditor reports are dated before their fiscal year end, in 2015:

Company Filer Status Auditor FYE

Opinion date

CALAVO GROWERS, INC.

Large Accelerrated ERNST & YOUNG LLP 10/31/2015

1/30/2015

CHINA YCT INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC.

Smaller Reporting Company PARITZ & COMPANY PA 3/31/2015

7/9/2014

REGI U S INC

Smaller Reporting Company MALONEBAILEY LLP 4/30/2015

7/28/2014

TARSIER LTD. Smaller Reporting Company KCCW ACCOUNTANCY CORP 5/31/2015

9/15/2014

VERITEC INC

Smaller Reporting Company WEINBERG & COMPANY, P.A. 6/30/2015

1/21/2015

PETRICHOR CORP.

Smaller Reporting Company KLJ & ASSOCIATES, LLP 5/31/2015

8/20/2014

CODE NAVY

Smaller Reporting Company YU CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT, P.C. 6/30/2015

12/11/2014

PEAK PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

Smaller Reporting Company EIDE BAILLY LLP 9/30/2015

1/12/2015

AXIOM HOLDINGS, INC.

Smaller Reporting Company SADLER, GIBB AND ASSOCIATES, LLC 9/30/2015

1/20/2015

INTERUPS, INC.

Smaller Reporting Company SADLER, GIBB AND ASSOCIATES, LLC 5/31/2015

1/20/2015

 

Other Observations:

Another observation we have made was the number of companies who filed their XBRL on the same day as their HTML in 2014. The following table shows the number of companies who filed their XBRL and HTML on the same day based on the filer status.

Was the XBRL & HTML filed on the same day?

Filer Status

Large Accelerated Filers

Accelerated Filers Non-Accelerated Filers

Smaller Reporting Companies

Yes

1811 1321 741

2684

No

18 42 591

171

 

Future Study & Follow-Up:

After completion of period end, during the month of March 2016, MyLogIQ, LLC will be releasing a study of earnings releases.

Help Tip: How to find the auditor’s opinion date & filter your keyword search?

Help Tip #1: As you may know, finding the auditor’s opinion date in the annual report is not always the quickest task. But we’ve managed to find a way to get this information to you in just a few clicks.

Please take a look at the step by step process below:
1. From the search panel, click on filter, ‘Form types, Sections, Notes to Financials, Exhibits & Contracts’.
2. Select, ‘Form Itemization’.
3. By default, it should be set to form ’10-K’, but if not, click on ’10-K’.
4. Scroll down the items list and select ‘LD_TOPIC- AUDITOR OPINION’.
5. If needed, insert company name, CIK or ticker in the company search box, adjust date range or select filter, ‘Company Identification Codes, Principals & Properties’, to filter by filer status, SIC group, auditor, etc.
6. Click ‘Search’.

Help Tip #2: Are you looking for a specific keyword and would only like to see it it within tables? What about within a paragraph in relation to percentages or dollar amounts? Did you know you could do both of these actions in the SECAnalyzer™?
There are two ways to filter your keyword search, by ‘quantified text’ or ‘in tables’. By quantified text we mean anything that can be measured, like dates, dollar amounts, percentages, etc. And by in tables, we mean anything in a table-chart like structure.

Please take a look at the step by step process below:
1. Input your keyword in the keyword search box, adjust the date range. If needed choose your filters or input the company name.
2. Below the keyword search box select either, ‘Quantified Text’ or ‘In Tables’ or both.
3. Click ‘Search’

You’re also able to view all results for your search criteria by selecting ‘All’. And if you want to switch between ‘Quantified Text’, ‘In Tables’ or ‘All’ after you’ve made your search, just look for the options in the middle of the screen, above your search results.
It’ll look like the following:
Filter

Help Tip: How to search for preferability letters?

Disclosed by Exhibit 18 are the Preferability letters which as you know are changes in the accounting policies relating to goodwill. The SECAnalyzer™, offers you a simple way to search for keywords within exhibits. In this case, we would search for specific keywords within exhibit 18 to find research about Preferability letters that were released.

Interestingly enough not all companies release Preferability letters after making changes. But don’t worry, we have you covered there too! Most of these companies state their changes within the footnote: accounting policies. You can easily search for specific keywords within footnotes just like exhibits. Allowing you to find all those nitty gritty details without breaking a sweat.

Please take a look at the step by step process below:
1. From the search panel, select ‘Form types, Sections, Notes to Financials, Exhibits & Contracts’.
2. Click on ‘Exhibits’ and select ‘EX-18 LETTER RE CHANGE IN ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES’.
3. Enter your desired keywords in the Keyword/Concept search box and select the dates you’d like to search within.
4. Click ‘Search’.

Alternatively, if the company has not released a Preferability letter:
1. From the search panel, select ‘Form types, Sections, Notes to Financials, Exhibits & Contracts’.
2. Click on ‘Form Types’ and select 10-K & 10-Q (hold ctrl key to select multiple items)
3. Click on ‘Notes to Financial’ and select ‘Accounting Policies’.
4. Enter your desired keywords in the Keyword/Concept search box and select the dates you’d like to search within.
5. Click ‘Search’.