Dimensions Highlights SEC Use of Big Data
Toppan Merrill’s November and December issue of Dimensions includes an explanation from the SEC’s Division of Economic Risk and Analysis (DERA) chief economist S.P. Kothari of the SEC’s current and expanding use of big data.
As we highlighted back in August, XBRL helps turn big data into useful information. Making data machine-readable, or, in Kothari’s words, “dramatically reducing the variety of data”, makes it easier for investors to access and harder for filers to conceal fraud.
“Structured information can also assist in automating regulatory filings and business information processing,” Kothari adds, “this standardization allows for aggregation, comparison, and large-scale statistical analyses that are less costly and more timely for data users than if the information were reported in an unstructured format.” In short, standardisation is essential in order for the SEC to make the most of the increasingly vast amounts of data that they are acquiring.
