XBRL US comments on SEC taxonomy development – and a range of proposals
The XBRL US Regulatory Modernization Working Group (RMWG) has submitted a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with observations and recommendations on the Commission’s taxonomy development process.
The SEC has published a great number of proposed and final rules containing structured data requirements in recent years – which, of course, is excellent news! This has created a significant workload for the SEC in building new taxonomies and augmenting existing ones. To ensure efficient rollout, says the RMWG, it is important for the SEC to maintain a consistent taxonomy development approach that is well understood by vendors and issuers.
One point highlighted in the letter is the need for clarification around the SEC’s selection of XBRL formats – Inline XBRL, xBRL-XML, xBRL-JSON or xBRL-CSV – and specifications. It also notes a lack of clarity around the use of linkbases, and inconsistent handling of labels. Recommendations include timely notice of taxonomy and guidance changes, and the development of a consistent approach to labels and reuse of elements.
Accompanying the letter is a set of case studies with examples of the challenges posed by a number of new rules. Useful food for thought for those engaged in digital reporting in the US! Read the story from XBRL US here, and the full letter here.
Staying with the RMWG, it recently wrote to the SEC to comment on the Resource Extraction (RXD) Taxonomy suggesting that Inline XBRL be allowed (as an alternative to traditional xBRL-XML) for Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers – read more here. It has also requested information from the SEC on the upcoming EDGAR BETA Test in support of the Filing Fee Disclosure and Payment Methods Modernization final rule – read more here. Most recently, XBRL US has suggested that the SEC transition Form NRSRO – the Application for Registration as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization – to xBRL-CSV to satisfy requirements of the Financial Data Transparency Act and leverage the greater efficiencies of the standard. More on that here.
