SEC extends electronic filing requirements, including use of XBRL
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unanimously voted to propose updates to its filing rules for funds, investment advisers, issuers, and others. These would mandate electronic submission of a number of forms and amend some to require structured data reporting.
“The amendments are intended to promote efficiency, transparency, and operational resiliency by modernizing the manner in which information is submitted to the Commission and disclosed. Furthermore, publicly filed electronic submissions would be more readily accessible to the public and would be available on our website in easily searchable formats, which benefits both investors and the broader public,” says the SEC. It also observes that digitisation will make the filing process more resilient and less burdensome in the face of disruptive events like the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the proposals, electronic submission would become mandatory for most documents that currently permit (but do not mandate) this option. They also specify the use of Inline XBRL – generating machine-readable data – for Form 11-K, filings. These include both financial statements and accompanying notes, and are used by publicly traded companies to report annually on employee stock purchases, savings and related plans.
We at XBRL International warmly welcome this news as an important further step in the transition from paper to digital reporting, and one which will increase the amount of decision-useful structured data available for analysis. The proposals are open for public comment for a period of only 30 days, so don’t delay if you would like to contribute.
