Why are some corporate earnings restatements more damaging?

If an earnings restatement is simply an accounting adjustment to old information that is no longer being used for valuation purposes, it will not necessarily cause a change in a firm's value. However, the restatement may contain information that is used to reassess the future cash flows and credibility of the firm. It is found that the earnings restatements elicit a strong negative market response. Moreover, the market response is conditioned on the content of the earnings restatements. The market-imposed penalty is more severe when the restatement is attributed to an adjustment in revenue, when it is forced by the auditor or the SEC, and when the revised earnings level is lower than two proxies used to measure expected earnings.