Item 4.02 Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements or a Related
Audit Report or Completed Interim Review
As explained below, on October 8, 2009, the Audit Committee of the Board of
Directors of Emmis Communications Corporation (the "Company"), in consultation
with the Company's management and independent registered public accounting firm,
concluded that the consolidated financial statements included in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, the related
reports of the independent registered public accounting firm, and the condensed
consolidated financial statements included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended May 31, 2009, should no longer be relied upon due to an
error in our provision for income taxes. As a result, we will restate our
consolidated financial statements and amend related disclosures for the fiscal
year ended February 28, 2009 as well as our condensed consolidated financial
statements for the fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2009 to correct this error. The
restatements have no effect on our cash flows in any period and also have no
impact on our compliance with covenants under debt instruments, other agreements
or regulatory requirements.
During the year ended February 28, 2009, we recorded a valuation allowance
on substantially all of our domestic deferred tax assets as it was more likely
than not that the domestic deferred tax assets would not be realized. In
determining the valuation allowance of our deferred tax assets, the Company
netted deferred tax assets related to indefinite-lived intangible assets and
deferred tax liabilities related to indefinite-lived intangible assets. In
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, deferred tax assets
and deferred tax liabilities associated with indefinite-lived intangible assets
should not be netted because the timing of the reversal of the deferred tax
liabilities is unknown. We have recorded additional valuation allowance equal to
the amount of deferred tax assets we had erroneously netted against deferred tax
liabilities. As a result of the foregoing, the Company overstated the benefit
for income taxes and understated deferred tax liabilities by $25.3 million in
its consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended February 28,
2009. In connection with this restatement, the Company also increased the
balance of a deferred tax liability related to an indefinite-lived intangible
asset by $6.1 million, with a corresponding reduction to the beginning balance
of retained earnings as this matter related to a prior period.
The correction of the error discussed above impacts our provision for
income taxes for our fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2009. Thus, we are restating
our condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended
May 31, 2009 to decrease our provision for income taxes by $4.5 million.
The Company's management and Audit Committee have discussed the foregoing
matter with Ernst & Young LLP, our independent registered public accounting
firm.
Note: Certain statements included in this report which are not statements of
historical fact, including but not limited to those identified with the words
"expect," "will" or "look" are intended to be, and are, by this Note, identified
as "forward-looking statements," as defined in the Securities and Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. Such statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance
or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future
result, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statement. Such factors include, among others:
• general economic and business conditions;
• fluctuations in the demand for advertising and demand for different types of
advertising media;
• our ability to service our outstanding debt;
• increased competition in our markets and the broadcasting industry;
• our ability to attract and secure programming, on-air talent, writers and
photographers;
• inability to obtain (or to obtain timely) necessary approvals for purchase
or sale transactions or to complete the transactions for other reasons
generally beyond our control;
• increases in the costs of programming, including on-air talent;
• inability to grow through suitable acquisitions;
• changes in audience measurement systems
• new or changing regulations of the Federal Communications Commission or
other governmental agencies;
• competition from new or different technologies;
• war, terrorist acts or political instability; and
• other factors mentioned in documents filed by the Company with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or
otherwise