Start with the filing record and keep each conclusion within the evidence
FSMDA treats financial statements and MD&A as the primary continuous-disclosure record, then uses supporting filings only where they materially clarify, test or reconcile that record.
Company Story
Describe strategy, capital use, asset progression and financial condition.
Filing Review
Test math, continuity, capitalization, accounting and presentation.
Open Questions
Publish material questions only where the public bridge remains incomplete.
Resolution
Record what later evidence corrected, clarified, narrowed or left unresolved.
Which records control which questions?
| Priority | Record | Primary use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Filed financial statements | Accounting recognition, assets, liabilities, equity, cash flow, gains/losses, carrying values. |
| 2 | Filed MD&A | Management's explanation of strategy, liquidity, project status, risks and subsequent events. |
| 3 | Amended filings | Corrections and later revisions to the original public record. |
| 4 | Exchange / SEDAR+ forms | Transaction terms, securities issuances, financing chronology, closing stages and monthly activity. |
| 5 | Agreements / registries / official records | Legal title, contractual rights, closing conditions, legal obligations and securities status. |
| 6 | Issuer news releases | What management publicly announced or represented. |
| 7 | Counterparty filings | Direct transaction context where the same deal crosses issuers. |
Material observations are source-locked
For each material item, FSMDA aims to preserve enough source detail that the observation can be checked again later without reconstructing the entire study.
Document identity
Issuer, document title, filing date and financial period.
Exact location
Page, note, table, section or schedule where the information appears.
Resolution chain
Later amendment, audit or supporting record that corrected or clarified the item.
Build enough history to establish the baseline
A new issuer review typically covers approximately 18–24 months, although the required scope depends on the company and the filing record.
Oldest audited year
Establish opening finances, projects, share capital, debt and strategy.
Q1
Bridge changes from year-end into the first interim period.
Q2 / Q3
Track continuity, new financings, project movement and changes in disclosure.
Next audit
Test interim estimates, impairments, equity, reclassifications and corrections.
Latest period
Bring the company story current and define open questions.
Standard review checklist
- Cash and cash-flow tie
- Working capital and liquidity
- Receivables
- E&E / property / intangible assets
- Accounts payable and accruals
- Loans and debt
- Related-party balances
- Revenue
- Gross profit, where applicable
- Consulting / management fees
- Professional fees
- Share-based compensation
- Impairments
- Transaction gains/losses
- Opening shares
- Share issuances
- Cancellations
- Options and warrants
- MD&A strategy and project status
- Risks and commitments
- Legal proceedings
- Subsequent events
Reconcile the filing before escalating the issue
Share-capital bridge
Opening shares + issuances − cancellations = expected closing shares.
Cash bridge
Opening cash + operating/investing/financing movement = closing cash.
Asset bridge
Opening balance + additions − disposals/impairments/reclassifications = expected closing balance.
FS vs MD&A
Compare reported values, periods, transaction status and management narrative.
How annual audits interact with interim filings
Audited annual financial statements normally control annual accounting when an interim record conflicts with the final year-end accounting.
- Preserve the original interim error or discrepancy.
- Show the annual correction or reclassification beside it.
- Check whether the incorrect number later reappears in comparative columns.
- Do not assume the annual audit explains every earlier discrepancy.
Officer chronology matters
FSMDA tracks the filing period, filing date, certification date, CEO, CFO and auditor before attributing a filing issue to a management period.
What we do
Describe observed changes in filing quality or disclosure under the correct officer chronology.
What we avoid
Attributing a filing to an officer who was not yet in the role, or inferring competence, motive or intent from a filing mistake.
Use transaction-specific labels and keep cross-issuer work controlled
Director, officer, consultant, advisor, finder, vendor, lender, insider and related party are not interchangeable terms.
- Use the label supported by the actual filing or agreement.
- Do not assume someone is an insider across issuers because they are an insider elsewhere.
- Do not infer hidden control, concert-party status or non-arm's-length status without evidence.
- Use counterparty filings where they materially clarify the same transaction.
- Label broader network research as cross-issuer context, not an issuer-specific conclusion.
Language should show what the record supports
Preferred wording
- “The filing reports…”
- “The audited statements state…”
- “The amounts do not reconcile…”
- “The public record reviewed does not explain…”
- “Possible explanation — not confirmed…”
- “Later filing corrected…”
Avoid without authoritative support
- fraud
- manipulation
- concealment
- collusion
- hidden control
- self-dealing
Later evidence updates the record without erasing history
Resolution can come from management, but it can also come through the normal disclosure process.
Issuer clarification
Management or IR provides an explanation and supporting record.
Subsequent filing
A later FS, MD&A, annual audit or amended filing supplies the missing bridge.
Official record
A registry, transfer-agent record, agreement, legal filing or directly relevant counterparty record resolves the question.
What this methodology does not claim to be
FSMDA is a public-record research project. It is not an audit opinion, legal opinion, regulator finding, technical report or investment recommendation.
Public filings can contain incomplete, amended or later-corrected information. Where the record stops, FSMDA should say so rather than invent the missing explanation.