API Feeds

With a purely automated approach, Forensic Alpha can systematically extract and analyze data from hundreds of new filings each day. For US stocks, we pull new filings in real-time, updating our scores within 30 minutes of publication. For European stocks, we update our scores within 24 hours.

Having standardized the data, we can make meaningful comparisons across quarters and across peers, allowing us to easily identify patterns and anomalies in the data as they arise. Our panel of 27 accounting flags captures the key risks from the financial filings, scoring each flag from 0 to 5. These individual flags are then aggregated up into an overall “Risk Score” from 0 to 10.

We offer a range of APIs depending on the desired use case:

RedFlags API
The RedFlags API provides accounting, governance and earnings quality scores for each stock under Forensic Alpha’s coverage, plus explanatory wording. Use it to:
- Get the latest “Overall Risk Score” for any specified stock
- Get the change in the overall risk score over the past 3 months for any specified stock
- Get the breakdown of the “Overall Risk Score” into its constituent flags
- Get the risk scores and the breakdown for all stocks under coverage
RedFlagsWording API
The RedFlagsWording API provides direct access to the wording used in our reports for each module we cover. Use it to:
- Programmatically pull the latest wording for any specified stock and any specified module
AccountingFlags API
The AccountingFlags API provides accounting scores for each stock under Forensic Alpha’s coverage. In contrast to the RedFlags API, which draws on accounting, governance and earnings quality, the AccountingFlags API only draws on the accounting scores. The methodology is consistent with our approach to the backtest. Use it to:
- Incorporate the signal from the Overall Risk Score into your model
- Get the breakdown of the “Overall Risk Score” into its constituent flags
Historical API
The Historical API returns a url to a csv file with historical red flag data for all companies under coverage. Use it to:
- Track red flag scores through time for a specified company
- Understand how overall scores for our universe have changed over time
- Perform back testing on the risk scores
Report API
The Report API returns a url to the forensic report of a specified stock. Use it to:
- Obtain the most recent pdf report, as published on our portal.
FilingExtract API
The FilingExtract API enables you to retrieve the text of specified sections from a specified filing. The section is rendered in markdown format, and where the information is in a non-English language, it will be translated into English. Use it to:
- Programmatically extract sections of interest for further analysis
- Create a feed for a LLM pipeline
Note, currently the FilingExtract API is only valid for stocks outside the US.