“This change allowed customers easier access to documents,” CFO Stephane Bello said during the week’s earnings webcast. The changed release date was was made to align with the compny's usual shipment schedule for federal tax forms, he explained.

That meant revenue for tax and accounting for the fourth quarter ended December 31 jumped by 20 percent over the prior year's corresponding period. But it also means that income for the first quarter ending March 31 will drop to a “low, single-digit” increase. However, after the timing shift that will impact the first quarter, Bello said the company anticipates revenue for 2020 will stay at the forecasted increase of 6 percent to 8 percent over 2019.

For 2019, Tax and Accounting reported EBITDA of $323 million, an increase of 18 percent from $273 million the prior year. Last year’s revenue for the business was $844 million, an increase of 6 percent from $794 million the prior year; up 8 percent in constant currencies.

Net earnings for 2019 were $1.56 billion, down 61.1 percent from slightly more than $4 billion the prior year. Total Thomson revenue for last year was $5.91 billion, up 7 percent from $5.5 billion in 2018. That was a rise of 8 percent in constant currencies and 4 percent organically