comScore Still Not Ready to File 2015 Documents

In late February, research firm comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) said that it had “received a message regarding certain potential accounting matters,” and that it would be unable to file either its Form 10-K 2015 annual report or its first-quarter fiscal 2016 Form 10-Q report on time. On Monday morning the company said its audit committee needed still more time.

The company has never said more about where the message came from or what “potential accounting matters” it’s dealing with. In August 2015 The Wall Street Journal raised a question about comScore’s use of “nonmonetary revenue” in its financial statements. These are typically barter deals where no cash changes hands. The value of those deals is subjective and may be tricky to verify.

In Tuesday’s announcement comScore said:

The Audit Committee continues to work vigorously to complete its review and to report its findings to the Board. To this end, the independent counsel and other advisers to the Audit Committee have completed a substantial amount of their factual inquiries to address the Audit Committee’s review. The Audit Committee and the Board, however, require further time to evaluate the information collected and to reach and evaluate final conclusions. In the meantime, the Company’s management and independent public accounting firm have commenced work to review the information collected so that the Company is in a position to file its Forms 10-K and 10-Q as soon as reasonably practicable.

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The worst outcome for comScore is that it would have to restate prior results. Investors knocked 30% off the stock when the audit began and shares have plummeted another 18% in the first half of Tuesday’s trading session. The stock has posted a new 52-week low of $21.74 against a 52-week high of $65.00. The consensus price target on the stock is $47.11.

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