June 2023 Newsletter

June 2023

SEC report on public and internal use of machine-readable data published to support FDTA implementation. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published their first Semi-Annual Report to Congress: Regarding Public and Internal Use of Machine-Readable Data for Corporate Disclosures, June 2023. This report is required under the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA), Section 5825(b). Highlights from the findings concerning benefits of machine-readable data include:

• Studies show that machine-readable corporate disclosures have decreased information asymmetry by reducing processing costs and making stock prices more informative; enhanced market competition; heightened monitoring of issuers by investors, driving corporations to provide more quantitative disclosure and more consistency.
• Issuers have gained from higher liquidity, lower cost of capital, higher return on investment and improved benchmarking and acquisition analysis.
• Facilitated the Commission’s investor protection efforts, and enabled staff in the Division of Enforcement to perform more efficient analysis that would have been significantly more difficult to detect and pursue in the absence of machine-readable data.

The report concludes, “The FDTA’s directives coincide with internal Commission and staff efforts to improve the management and use of data across the agency, consistent with other statutory directives as well as overall strategic goals to work more efficiently.”

XBRL US comments on Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) regulatory review. The FHFA Regulatory Review; Request for Comment, sought input on legal and marketplace developments that may have rendered current regulations outmoded or inefficient, and on alternative methods to meet various regulatory requirements. Our letter:

• Encouraged the FHFA to investigate XBRL and the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) to meet requirements of the recently passed Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) legislation.
• Explained that widespread use of data standards is a market advancement that the FHFA should consider adopting. Outmoded data collections in use at the Agency today could be modernized through data standards with benefits to the entire supply chain.
• Proposed XBRL data standards and taxonomies as a far better alternative to the current process of collecting and providing data in text files with PDF technical documentation to support.

SEC offers EDGAR BETA testing for Filing Fee Modernization rule implementation. Issuers and vendors will be able to test the technical and structured data aspects of the Filing Fee Disclosure and Payment Methods Modernization rule that was adopted October 13, 2021. The BETA will open October 2, 2023, and close December 22, 2023. To participate, filers should send an email to FilingFeeBetaFeedback@sec.gov no later than August 31, 2023, including filer’s name and CIK. The email should be sent from the email corresponding to their Contact for EDGAR Information, Inquiries and Access Code (EDGAR Contact) listed in EDGAR.

SEC upgrades EDGAR System to release 23.2. The new release now supports taxonomies for Open-End Fund (OEF), Resource Extraction Payments (RXP) and Sub-National Jurisdiction (SNJ) taxonomies in addition to the 2023 version of the IFRS Taxonomy. The OEF Taxonomy supports disclosures required in the SEC rule on Tailored Shareholder Reports for Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds. RXP and SNJ taxonomies support the SEC rule, Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers. The SEC invites feedback on the taxonomies, submitted to structuredData@sec.gov.

XBRL US comments on SEC Open-End Fund Taxonomy for Tailored Shareholder Reports. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) draft Open-End Fund Taxonomy and supporting materials were made available to support the SEC rule Tailored Shareholder Reports for Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds which was finalized on October 26, 2022. XBRL US members representing the majority of SEC issuers prepared the comment letter providing detailed feedback on the taxonomy and guidance, as well as specific rule-related questions.

FASB seeks input on proposed GAAP Taxonomy Improvements for the Proposed ASU – Financial Instruments – Credit Losses: Purchased Financial Assets. The proposed Update would require the application of that single accounting approach to all acquired financial assets (with exceptions) based on seasoning criteria. Comments are due by August 28, 2023.

Save the date! XBRL US to host GovFin 2023: Empowering Governments, Modernizing Reporting in Washington, DC, November 9, 2023.

Join the conversation about the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA), and how federal, state, and local governments can use data standards to improve efficiencies, reduce burden, and streamline and modernize processes. Speakers have been confirmed to date from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Global LEI Foundation (GLEIF), the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Cato Institute, Truth in Accounting, the University of Denver, the University of Michigan Center for Local State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), and Wayne County, Michigan.

XBRL US White Papers and Videos

White Paper: Data Standards and the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA)

This paper, sponsored by Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) explores the current state of data management and provides a roadmap to meet the FDTA requirements. It describes the current state of 400+ data sets collected by covered FDTA agencies which are prepared in a variety of formats, including PDF, text, HTML, Word, XML, and XBRL. Most are not machine-readable or interoperable, and cannot be easily located, inventoried, or stored. Identifiers are not consistently applied which makes it nearly impossible to effectively evaluate risk. Reporting entities face duplicate reporting, and confusion in contending with numerous forms. Preparers and consumers are faced with lengthy technical documentation on how to report and use data, with no linkage between the data reported and the semantic data model. It describes what FDTA success looks like and addresses alternatives to data standards that might be considered. It provides a roadmap on how to achieve its goals by standing up a long-term data standards program. Download the paper. Read the Executive Summary.

Videos: Data standards for reporting.

XBRL US posted 4 short (3-5 minute) videos to help government entities better understand data standards and how they might apply to governments with the implementation of the FDTA. Watch them on the FDTA section of our Legislation page.

Upcoming XBRL US Steering Committee and Other Member Meetings

The Data Quality Committee will meet Thursday, July 6. at Noon ET. Get details and register – https://xbrl.us/dqc.

The Domain Steering Committee will meet Tuesday, July 18, at 2PM ET. https://xbrl.us/events/dsc-230718 – all XBRL US Members are invited to attend

The Communications Steering Committee will meet Tuesday, July 18, at 3 PM ET. https://xbrl.us/events/csc-230718 – all XBRL US Members are invited to attend

The Regulatory Modernization Working Group will meet Tuesday, July 11, at 3 PM ET. (membership@xbrl.us for details)

The Standard Government Reporting Working Group will meet Tuesday, July 25, at 12:30 PM ET. (membership@xbrl.us for details)

XBRL US Members are encouraged to attend and get involved.

XBRL Data Community – Live Support
Anyone can use this Google Meet link on Mondays between 3:30 and 4:30 PM ET to get help from XBRL US Staff with the XBRL API, our resources, etc.

Want to get as deep in the as-filed data as XBRL US Members? Request XBRL API provisioning with an organizational email address for a 10-day trial of full Member access to evaluate this benefit.

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 – $550/ 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.