Using XBRL to Conduct a Large-Scale Study of Discrepancies between the Accounting Numbers in Compustat and SEC 10-K Filings

51 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2013 Last revised: 31 Jan 2014

See all articles by Roman Chychyla

Roman Chychyla

University of Miami - School of Business Administration

Alexander Kogan

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Date Written: January 30, 2014

Abstract

Compustat accounting database is frequently used for both research and decision-making. However, the accuracy and value of the information extracted from Compustat depend not only on the methods used to extract that information, but also on the validity of the data provided by Compustat. It has been documented (San Miguel 1977; Rosenberg and Houglet 1974; Yang et al. 2003; Tallapally et al. 2011, 2012; Boritz and No 2013) that information found in Compustat database differs from both the information found in other accounting databases and the information disclosed in corporate financial filings. In this study, we conduct the first large-scale comparison of Compustat and 10-K data. Specifically, we compare 30 accounting items for approximately 5,000 companies for the period from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012. We find that the values reported in Compustat significantly differ from the values reported in 10-K filings. We also find that the amount and magnitude of the original data alterations introduced by Compustat depend on the type of the accounting item and company characteristics such as industry and size.

Keywords: Compustat, 10-K, data quality, XBRL, data discrepancies, data aggregators

Suggested Citation

Chychyla, Roman and Kogan, Alexander, Using XBRL to Conduct a Large-Scale Study of Discrepancies between the Accounting Numbers in Compustat and SEC 10-K Filings (January 30, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2304473 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2304473

Roman Chychyla (Contact Author)

University of Miami - School of Business Administration ( email )

Coral Gables, FL 33146-6531
United States
3052842324 (Phone)

Alexander Kogan

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey ( email )

311 North 5th Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08854
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
557
Abstract Views
3,607
Rank
107,286
PlumX Metrics