December, 2023 Newsletter

December, 2023

Happy New Year, and welcome back from the holidays!

We’re excited about the opportunities ahead in 2024 – here’s a short preview of what to expect:

• Continued support for the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA), with planning underway for a workshop in Colorado focused on government reporting, ongoing engagement with FSOC agencies, legislative outreach, and more local government pilots. We’ve also reconnected with agencies responsible for the GREAT Act to support XBRL reporting for grants disclosures.
• Climate-related activities will ramp up with implementation of the California GHG emissions disclosure legislation (SB 253 and SB 261), in addition to the long-awaited final rule on climate-related disclosures from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• Increased support for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) programs. Last year the FERC introduced the first US-based XBRL-CSV rule proposal which will likely be finalized in the coming months.
• 2024 SEC rule implementations expand the use of structured data, for example, fee-based filings, cybersecurity, and tailored shareholder reports. These new programs combined with the challenges of EDGAR Next make this a critical year for the consortium to work closely with the SEC to improve efficiencies and educate issuers.
• Innovation and new uses of Artificial Intelligence continue to gain traction. This year we’ll focus on how we can all harness the power of AI, and make it better, with structured, standardized data.
• Given the breadth of initiatives, our Fall conference will focus on multiple areas: FDTA, ESG, technical innovation, SEC and FERC reporting, and more.

Stay tuned to hear about new committees on ESG and AI in the coming weeks. Ask us about joining existing committees that are influencing the direction of reporting by businesses, utilities, and governments. This is an important year to get involved.

XBRL US commented on FERC proposed rule, Revisions to Electric Quarterly Report (EQR). The XBRL US letter expressed support for the proposed plan to transition data collection of the EQR to XBRL-CSV format to make information easier to submit, and data easier to use. We also suggested that the FERC consider requiring the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), clarify certain aspects of the proposal, and make supporting materials available as soon as possible.

SEC Second FDTA Semiannual Report to Congress published. The report notes that of the 54 forms, schedules, and statements containing disclosures, three-quarter (42) require some machine-readable data. Since the last SEC report to Congress, amendments have been adopted by the SEC with structured data requirements for 4 additional forms. The report goes on to describe the benefits and cost of structured data; and how structured machine-readable data is used by SEC divisions including the Division of Investment Management and the Division of Corporation Finance as well as the Office of the Chief Accountant.

FASB requests comment on Accounting for Debt with Conversion Update. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published Release Notes for an update that aims to improve the accounting for debt with conversion and other options: Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20): Induced Conversions of Convertible Debt Instruments. The deadeline for comments is March 18, 2024.

2024 GAAP, SEC Reporting, and DQC Rules Taxonomies now available. The FASB announced the availability of the 2024 GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy (GRT) and the 2024 SEC Reporting Taxonomy (SRT). The FASB also announced the availability of the 2024 DQC Rules Taxonomy (DQCRT), which together with the GAAP Taxonomy are collectively referred to as the “FASB Taxonomies.” The FASB announcement explains updates made to the taxonomies, and notes that the 2024 GRT and SRT taxonomies are expected to be accepted as final by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in early 2024.

EDGAR Release 23.4 supports FUND (FND) Taxonomy. The SEC has upgraded the EDGAR System to Release 23.4 which now supports the FND Taxonomy to be used for tagging elements related to the final rule on Investment Company Names. View the list of supported taxonomies and read the FND Taxonomy Guide.

XBRL US Events

Webinar: FDTA Impact on Municipal Bond Investors, January 17, 2024 at 3PM ET
The Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) calls for disclosures from municipal bond issuers to be made available to investors and other data users in machine-readable, structured format. Attend this 60-minute discussion with municipal bond investors for their views on what data they use, what kind of issuers they follow, and how access to digitized municipal bond issuer data could change how they work. Learn about their thoughts on the technology impact of data standards on the municipal marketplace.

Speakers:

• Barnet Sherman, Senior Managing Partner, Tenbar Capital
• Jamie Richardson, Managing Director of Research, Municipals, Fidelity Investments
• Triet M. Nguyen, Vice President, Strategic Data Operations, DPC DATA
• Justin Land, CEO, AG Analytics LLC

Register for this free event: https://xbrl.us/240117

Replay from GovFin 2023: Empowering Governments, Modernizing Reporting
Watch video replays from this November 9 conference featuring speakers from the SEC, the FERC, the GASB, MSRB, and more.

Watch the replay: https://xbrl.us/govfin23

Upcoming XBRL US Steering Committee and Other Member Meetings

The Domain Steering Committee will meet Tuesday, January 16, at 2 PM ET. https://xbrl.us/events/dsc-240116/ – all XBRL US Members are invited to attend

The Communications Steering Committee will meet Tuesday, January 16, at 3 PM ET. https://xbrl.us/events/csc-240116/ – all XBRL US Members are invited to attend

The Regulatory Modernization Working Group will meet Tuesday, January 9, at 3 PM ET. (membership@xbrl.us for details)

The XBRL US Standard Government Reporting Working Group will meet Tuesday, January 23, at 12:30 ET. (membership@xbrl.us for details)

The XBRL US Technical Advisory Committee (XTAC) will meet on Wednesday, January 17, at 4 PM ET. (membership@xbrl.us for details)

Timing for the next meeting of the Academic Subcommittee has not yet been set. (membership@xbrl.us for details)

XBRL US Members are encouraged to attend and get involved.

XBRL US Articles, White Papers, and Blogs

Blog Post: Good communication makes good neighbors.
Christine Kuglin, JD, LLM, CPA, Director – Truth in Accounting – Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, explains how increased transparency and better communication will help both government managers and residents.

Read the post.

Accounting Today article: Are special districts too special for meaningful comparisons?
Christine Kuglin from University of Denver and Michelle Savage from XBRL US address how financial data standards can be used to provide useful comparisons for government entities as different as hospitals, fire and school districts.

Read the article.

White Paper: Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) Special District Taxonomies.
Through a grant provided by the Mercatus Center, the University of Denver and XBRL US conducted research on performing outreach and establishing data standards to represent four special districts in Colorado: Fire Protection, School, Health/Hospital, Metropolitan. The paper concludes that special districts can be appropriately represented through structured data standards; and notes that greater education and outreach is needed among local governments, particularly special districts.

Read the paper.

Blog Post: SEC Can Look to States for Municipal Finance Standardization Ideas
Marc Joffe, Senior Policy Analyst at The Cato Institute, notes that the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) promises to provide municipal bond investors with standardized financial data for counties, cities, and special districts that issue debt securities. While some municipal market leaders have expressed concerns about the ability of local governments to comply, they can rest assured by looking at state-level reporting systems: local governments in eighteen states are already providing fielded financial statement data to a state auditor, controller, or treasurer. Read the post.

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 – $500 per year) or your organization (fees vary, starting at $575 annually). Find out more about the benefits of membership and how to become involved by visiting https://xbrl.us/benefits.