Inline XBRL and testing opportunities: XBRL US comments on SEC agenda
XBRL US has written to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), providing feedback on its semiannual regulatory agenda and urging it to make time for testing.
The letter supports, discusses and offers recommendations on a number of specific proposals in the agenda that would expand XBRL reporting requirements. Welcoming the Pay versus Performance rule, which calls for XBRL text-block and detailed tagging for certain executive compensation-related data, it observes that, given progress in reporting in recent years, the additional burden would be minimal – and that the value of XBRL data to investors is proven. It also suggests that the SEC require Inline XBRL rather than conventional XBRL, to be consistent with other XBRL-formatting requirements for public companies.
Filing Fee Disclosure and Payment Methods Modernization would require XBRL for fee calculations on fee-bearing forms, schedules and statements; the letter urges the SEC to make the taxonomy available as soon as possible. Listing Standards for Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation, would deploy XBRL for block text tagging of the issuer’s policy on incentive-based compensation, and here again the use of Inline XBRL is suggested.
In addition, the letter makes general comments encouraging the Commission to support issuers and vendors by providing test environments, and allowing time for the market to try out new rules before they are enacted, particularly those with structured data components.
That sounds like best practice to us here at XBRL International.
