Reducing the release time for the Audit Report (Nov. 2004)

At the November 2004 meeting, the board of directors endorsed updated audit practices to reduce the amount of time passed between the end of the audit period and the availability of final audit data and release of the Audit Report. The closing of single-copy sales results and the accounting for credit cancels are two areas effected by this modification.

1. Closing of Final Single-Copy Sales Results – A new policy, where determined appropriate by audit staff, will be to close final single-copy sales data at a period of 15 weeks following the off sale date of the issue. If in a subsequent audit test, differences are found between the figures accepted for audit and the final single-copy circulation (15 weeks data) of two percent or greater of average total paid circulation, a restatement of single-copy figures will be made in the explanatory paragraph on the next subsequent Publisher’s Statement.
2. Accounting for Credit Cancellations – Magazines currently account for copies served on credit for which no payment has been received in the seven months allowed to collect in two ways; a per-issue basis (direct method) or an average basis (averaging method). The ABC board has endorsed the use of a hybrid direct method, allowing publications to continue to use actual cancellations per issue for those issues closed at a specified date and on all open issues, cancellation data would be calculated based on the hybrid methodology.

For more information, contact your ABC publisher relations manager at 847.605.0909

Posted 11/29/04