Data-quality corner: spotlighting SEC comment letters
We continue to explore the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) comment letter archive this week – catch up with parts one and two on our website. These letters, sent to individual companies regarding issues in their financial statements, provide an overview of the kinds of errors cropping up in Inline XBRL filings.
In June 2016, the SEC wrote to Sabre Corporation regarding its form 10-Q quarterly reports, pointing out the absence of interactive data – i.e., data digitally tagged using Inline XBRL – on acquired customer relationships and other intangible assets. This is a good reminder for filers to ensure that all data is appropriately and thoroughly tagged, not only traditional financial metrics. In the letter, the SEC also highlights the need for XBRL data to be numerically accurate.
Read the SEC comment letter here, or investigate all past letters and related filings using the EDGAR search tool and selecting ‘Filing review correspondence’ under ‘Filing category’ in ‘more search options.’