June 2022 Newsletter

June, 2022

The University of Michigan (U-M) launches a public review of government financial data standards. Governments, standard setters, regulators and analysts are encouraged to review and comment on the Annual Comprehensive Financial Reporting (ACFR) Taxonomy, which represents seven financial statements and four notes, in addition to Michigan-specific reports that local entities submit along with their financials. Significant changes have been made to previous releases including the addition of validation rules, expansion of line items and note disclosures, and structural changes to streamline taxonomy architecture. Pilot programs will be conducted with several Michigan municipalities, including the City of Flint. The project was led by U-M Center for Local State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) in partnership with XBRL US, and was made possible through a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation for the Flint pilot program.

“Transparency into local government fiscal health is needed to handle challenges communities in Michigan and around the country encounter today, from pandemic- and infrastructure-related costs, to economic issues like inflation,” said Stephanie Leiser, CLOSUP’s Local Fiscal Health Project leader, “Open data standards generate financial data that will help local entities respond faster, and have the information to make better policy decisions.”

Reason Foundation’s Marc Joffe noted in a recent blog, “XBRL can make data from state and local governments more digestible and publicly available.”

The public review includes access to sample XBRL reports in addition to the ACFR Taxonomy (available in a taxonomy viewer or downloadable to Excel). Access the Taxonomy and supporting materials, and read the U-M release and the XBRL US release.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) publishes a list of upcoming proposed and final rules which features extensive XBRL requirements for issuers. The Agency Rule List includes six rules with structured data requirements to be finalized in October 2022, and five in April 2023. These imminent final rules are in addition to the six programs already finalized, that are being rolled out between August 1, 2022 and 2025.

XBRL US supports the SEC proposal on climate-related disclosures for investors. Our letter stresses the importance of establishing a single, global, widely used standard to minimize the burden of reporting and data extraction. We also encourage the Commission to allow custom extensions as a critical feedback loop for companies and standard setters, particularly in this early stage of ESG reporting.

The SEC mandates XBRL for Employee Stock Purchase and Savings Plans. The final rule, Updating EDGAR Filing Requirements and Form 144 Filings mandates the electronic filing of certain documents and requires the use of Inline XBRL for filing financial statements and accompanying notes to the financial statements required in the annual reports of employee stock purchase, savings and similar plans (Form 11-K). Filers have a three year transition period after the effective date of the amendments.

XBRL US backs SEC proposals on SPACs and security-based swap execution. The SEC proposal on Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, Shell Companies, and Projections, would require SPACs to tag disclosures as called for in Subpart 1600 of Regulation S-K in Inline XBRL. Our response indicated support for the tagging requirements, but also urged the Commission to provide extra support to those SPACs in the IPO stage. The proposal regarding IPOs would accelerate the tagging obligations (and related compliance burdens) of SPACs compared to those of other filers.

Our comment letter on the proposal, Rules Relating to Security-Based Swap Execution and Registration and Regulation of Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities, expressed support for the plan that calls for new Form SBSEF to be prepared by security-based swap execution facilities (SBSEF) in Inline XBRL format.

XBRL US suggests XBRL-CSV for SEC Form N-MFP. In response to an SEC Extension of Data Collection on Form N-MFP, XBRL US submitted a comment letter urging the Commission to consider XBRL-CSV to replace the current requirement that Form N-MFP be reported using a custom XML schema.

XBRL Case Study: Are Big Companies Paying their Fair Share? By Christine Cheng, Assistant Professor, Patterson School of Accountancy at University of Mississippi; and Campbell Pryde, President and CEO, XBRL US.

“Controversial questions require the right dataset. Case studies are often the best tool for students to learn how to untangle the complexities of public company financial statements to get answers to important questions. Access to high quality, timely data can help illustrate the impact of current events and make analysis significantly more relevant to students.“

Read the full case study and find resources to leverage XBRL data in a study used with students at the University of Mississippi. Professor Christine Cheng is currently a Visiting Academic Scholar at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

XBRL US Events & Replays

Webinar: Dive into Debt Securities – Illustrations of the FASB Implementation Guide, July 20, 2022, 3PM ET

Get in-depth examples to help issuers and providers effectively prepare public company investment schedules. This webinar, and the guidance on which it is based, is a companion to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) implementation guide on “Financial Instruments – Debt Securities” that was published in 2021, and expands on the Guide with illustrative examples.

Register: https://xbrl.us/events/220720

Webinar: Tools and Techniques for the XBRL Data Pipeline, July 27, 2022, 3PM ET

Join the XBRL US Team to find out what’s new with the XBRL Filed Data add-in, XBRL API, and resources available that anyone can use to explore the deep, growing pool of standardized financial data produced in XBRL.

Register: https://xbrl.us/events/220727

Webinar Series Replay: Mastering New SEC XBRL Requirements for Investment Management Filers

Deadlines for investment management filers adhering to the SEC final rule, Securities Offering Reform for Closed-End Investment Companies, start as early as August 1, 2022. Get up the learning curve quickly by watching this two-part series:

Session 1: Review what needs to be tagged, as well as where to find (and how to use) samples provided by the SEC. Watch: https://xbrl.us/events/220524/

Session 2: Find out how the new requirements will change workflow, issues to consider during the transition and SEC staff interpretations and FAQ resources. Watch: https://xbrl.us/events/220607/

Upcoming XBRL US Steering Committee and Other Member Meetings

The Data Quality Committee held its most recent meeting on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. The next meeting will be held September 21, at 9 AM ET. Get information about the Committee: https://xbrl.us/dqc.

The Domain Steering Committee will meet Tuesday, July 19, at 2PM ET. https://xbrl.us/events/dsc-220621 – all XBRL US Members are invited to attend

The Communications Steering Committee will meet Tuesday, July 19, at 3 PM ET. https://xbrl.us/events/csc-220621 – all XBRL US Members are invited to attend

The Regulatory Modernization Working Group will meet Tuesday, July 12, at 3 PM ET. (membership@xbrl.us for details)

XBRL US Members are encouraged to attend and get involved.

XBRL US Members are committed to engaging and collaborating with other members, contributing to the standard through involvement of their teams, and striving to build awareness and educate the market. Members of XBRL US represent the full range of the business reporting supply chain.

Not yet an XBRL US member? Maybe it’s time to consider joining XBRL US for yourself ($55 – $525/ year) or your organization (fees vary, starting at $525 annually). Find out more about the benefits of membership and how to become involved by visiting https://xbrl.us/benefits.