The two misstatement measures most commonly used in the literature are restatements and
Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs). Accounting restatements correct misstatements in previously
issued financial statements. Restatements are used in a variety of research settings, including tests of whether audit quality
is associated with non-audit service fees (NAS), audit committee characteristics, and auditor industry specialization.19
AAERs are enforcement actions concerning civil lawsuits brought by the SEC in a federal court or administrative proceeding.
AAERs are used relatively infrequently, probably because they are rare (e.g., Lennox and Pittman, 2010b). Most studies also
restrict their analysis to AAERs that target the auditor or capture fraudulent accounting.2