diff --git a/doc/common.m4 b/doc/common.m4
index 9a997f766..132fab16a 100644
--- a/doc/common.m4
+++ b/doc/common.m4
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ m4_define({{_inputoptions_}}, {{
 : use some other field or tag for the account name
 
 `-I --ignore-assertions`
-: ignore any failing balance assertions
+: disable balance assertion checks (note: does not disable balance assignments)
 
 }} )m4_dnl
 m4_dnl
diff --git a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.m4.md b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.m4.md
index dcde97fc6..660ae32b0 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.m4.md
+++ b/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.m4.md
@@ -404,6 +404,7 @@ can protect you from, eg, inadvertently disrupting reconciled balances
 while cleaning up old entries. You can disable them temporarily with
 the `-I/--ignore-assertions` flag, which can be useful for
 troubleshooting or for reading Ledger files.
+(Note: this flag currently does not disable balance assignments, below).
 
 ### Assertions and ordering