Rules & Resources
Bylaws & Rules

Chapter B: Article 2 - Audits

B 2.1 Member Obligations

An ABC audit is designed to provide a high degree of assurance that an ABC member-publication's circulation, as well as all other information contained in its ABC Audit Report, is fairly stated in all respects material to average paid and analyzed non-paid circulation.

ABC publisher members are responsible for all information disclosed in their ABC Publisher's Statements and Audit Reports, and are obligated to comply with Bylaws 2.8 "Publisher Duty to Install and Maintain Records" and Bylaw 2.15 "Access to Records." These bylaws state that the publisher is also responsible for the accuracy, completeness and accessibility of records maintained by agents, their sub-agents, distributors and other third-party suppliers.

Publishers must cooperate fully and in a timely fashion with ABC auditors in providing accurate records and information in connection with inquiries that arise during the audit process.

All ABC report services will be suspended when the ABC auditor cannot present final audit findings within six months of the audit period, if the delay is caused by the failure of the publisher (or its agent, their sub-agents, distributor or other third-party supplier) to respond in a timely fashion to requests for records. Report services will be resumed once the necessary documentation has been provided.

B 2.2 Audit Report Contents and Differences

(a) If, in the judgment of the managing director, there are any significant differences between the total paid circulation as shown in the Audit Report and that shown in Publisher's Statements, the differences shall be explained in the Audit Report.

(b) The quarterly averages for the period audited shall be shown in the Audit Report, together with the quarterly averages for the three immediately preceding years. (The provision requiring quarterly averages for the three immediately preceding years does not apply to business publications and consumer magazines.)

(c) Advertising statistics and information shall not be included in Audit Reports.

Nothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted as conflicting with the rule requiring that variations in the advertising content be explained, or any other rule requiring specific explanation.

B 2.3 Request Change of Auditors

In case a publisher objects to the auditor assigned by the Bureau to audit the publication, the publisher shall state fully the objections. If such objections are deemed by the Bureau to be sufficient another auditor shall be substituted.

B 2.4 Time of Making Audits

See also C 4.1 for newspapers.

(a) Publisher's Statements shall be subject to audit once a year, except in such cases as otherwise specified under the rules.

(b) On all audits covering a period longer than a year the Audit Report shall show the averages for the last 12 months of the period and separate averages for the additional period (except for daily newspapers with average paid circulation of 25,000 copies per issue or less audited every two years, weekly newspapers audited for a 2-year period and weekly newspapers under the Group Audit Plan).

B 2.5 Initial Audit

See also C 4.2 for newspapers;
D 3.1 for business publications;
E 3.1 for farm publications; and
F 3.1 for magazines.

For the purpose of initial audit there shall be filed with the Bureau:

(1) Copy of the current issue of the publication.
(2) Bureau's circulation record analysis blank filled out and signed.
(3) Certification that the basic subscription price has been printed regularly in the applicant's publication during the period to be audited. See B 2.10.
(4) Complete list of all prices, besides the basic subscription price, offered during the period to be audited. In case no record is available to indicate a public announcement of such established prices, the price reported in the initial Audit Report as the basic price shall be the highest price at which subscriptions were found to have been taken for the class of business designated.

B 2.6 Audit Report Submitted to Publisher

A proof copy of Audit Report shall be submitted to the publisher at least 10 days prior to its publication and distribution to members, unless the publisher elects not to receive proofs. The publisher shall make no use of any part of such report until it has been released by the Bureau to its members.

B 2.7 Costs

The entire cost to the Bureau of any audit, together with the cost of any necessary investigation or any other additional expense or cost incurred by the Bureau at the request of or pertaining to the obligations of a publisher member shall be charged to the publication or publications involved. The cost of a Special Investigation made under the provisions of 4.7 of the Bylaws shall be paid by the publisher members involved as determined by the Special Investigation Committee created under the provision of said Bylaw. In case of costs other than the audit and necessary investigation, the publisher shall be notified that a separate charge will be made for the additional work, prior to the Bureau taking action in that regard.

B 2.8 Variations from Publisher's Statement

When an audit shows variations from the data contained in the Publisher's Statements for the period audited, the Bureau shall:

(a) Make available to publisher all data (specific facts and not simply the general nature and type of facts) upon which the adjustments were made.

(b) Instruct auditors to take the initiative in informing the publisher as to the specific facts that have led to the deduction.

(c) If the publisher believes that the data so furnished is inadequate to justify the proposed deductions, an appeal may be made to the managing director and in the event of dissatisfaction with the managing director's decision, the publisher may appeal to the Board of Directors.

(d) If an Audit Report shows discrepancies of more than 3 percent between the auditor's findings and the Publisher's Statements for the period audited, the subsequent two Publisher's Statements released after the audit shall repeat from the last preceding Audit Report the paragraph that sets forth the facts concerning said discrepancies.

(e) When an audit has shown adjustments in Publisher's Statements exceeding 5 percent, the facts and circumstances shall be reported to the Board of Directors for such action as the board may determine.

(f) When two consecutive audits have shown adjustments exceeding 5 percent, the Audit Report will contain a prominent notice on its front page reporting this condition, as will the subsequent two Publisher's Statements released after the audit.

B 2.9 Prices Incorrectly Reported

Any discrepancy between prices reported in a Publisher's Statement and prices published in the publication during the period for which the Publisher's Statement was made shall be noted in the Audit Report.

B 2.10 Publication of Basic Annual Price

The auditor shall satisfy him/herself that the basic annual subscription price (publisher's suggested annual subscription price), or in the absence of a basic annual subscription price, the Basic Price for the next longer term for which a Basic Price has been established, has been published in the publication regularly during the period being audited or audit shall not be made. Where no basic annual subscription price has been established by a publication a pro rata of the basic price for the next longer term shall be used by the Bureau in determining the validity of all subscription offers.

B 2.11 Recalling Audit Report

If an Audit Report, subsequent to its release by the Bureau, is found to be incorrect in any material degree, or if the managing director has reason to believe that such Audit Report is incorrect in any material degree, the managing director, in either event, may recall such Audit Report. In the event that an Audit Report is recalled a bulletin to that effect shall be sent to the members and to directories using such Audit Report.

B 2.12 Reaudit Requests

If a publisher member questions the accuracy of the publication's Audit Report or that of any other publication in the same class, the publisher shall have the right to a reaudit, provided request for such reaudit is made within 10 days of receipt of proof copy of the Audit Report or within 15 days of issuance in the case of another publication and provided, further, such publisher member furnishes satisfactory evidence that such request is warranted. Such reaudit shall be made by another auditor selected by the Bureau.

B 2.13 Reaudit Costs

(a) Publishers requesting a reaudit shall deposit with the Bureau at the time such request is made an amount equivalent to the estimated cost of the reaudit as determined by the managing director.

(b) In the event the reaudit shows a total paid average within 3 percent of that shown by the original audit, the petitioner shall pay the cost of the reaudit; otherwise the sum deposited shall be returned to the petitioner.

(c) In the event such re-examination proves that the publication has misstated its circulation to the Bureau, either through false or incorrect statements or by employing a method of keeping its records tending to mislead the auditor, or both, the expense of reaudit shall be borne by the publication reaudited.

B 2.14 Variation Report

The Bureau may issue a periodic report showing the variations in circulation, if there is a 3% negative variance, as reported in Audit Reports released during a calendar quarter and the Publisher's Statements for the period audited. The contents of the report may include but not be limited to: the audit period; total average circulation as reported in Publisher's Statements; total average circulation in Audit Report; difference in number of copies; percentage difference; rate base; difference in number of copies between rate base and Audit Report; percentage difference between rate base and Audit Report; and other data subject to approval of the Board of Directors.