Updated 6 November 2026
Why official records disagree, and how to compare them
Statistical revisions, provisional versus final data, financial restatements, corrigenda and data quality frameworks, from the agencies themselves.
Why records conflict
- Scope and period mismatches between official records How differences in coverage, counting units, reference periods, fiscal years and geography make two correct official records show different numbers.
- Why official records disagree The main reasons two official records show different figures for the same thing: timing, revisions, corrections, scope, definitions and restatements.
Revisions and restatements
- Corrigenda and corrections in official journals How the EU Official Journal, the US Federal Register and statistics offices publish corrections to released texts, and how to find them.
- Financial restatements explained How companies correct errors in published accounts under US rules and IFRS, what a Form 8-K Item 4.02 notice means, and how EU enforcers act.
- Provisional versus final data What provisional, advance and final figures mean in official data, how long each stage lasts, and why early counts differ from final ones.
- Statistical revisions explained Why GDP, jobs and other official figures change after release, how agencies schedule revisions, and how a revision differs from a correction of an error.
Comparing records
- Data quality frameworks compared How the IMF DQAF, the European and UK codes of practice, UN principles, US rules and ISO 8000 define data quality, revisions and errors.
- How to compare two conflicting records A step by step method for comparing two official figures that disagree, from vintage and scope to corrections, restatements and documentation.