The US SEC proposed a new rule late last week that will require under Dodd-Frank that resource extraction issuers to disclose payments made to the U.S. federal government or foreign governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals. The proposed rules, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, are intended to further the statutory objective to advance U.S. policy interests by promoting greater transparency about payments related to resource extraction.
Under the proposed rules, an issuer would be required to disclose payments made to the U.S. federal government or a foreign government if the issuer is required to file annual reports with the Commission under the Securities Exchange Act. The issuer would also be required to disclose payments made by a subsidiary or entity controlled by the issuer.
The proposed rules would require a resource extraction issuer to publicly disclose the information annually using Form SD. The information would be included in an exhibit and electronically tagged using the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format.
A resource extraction issuer would be required to file the Form SD with the Commission no later than 150 days after the end of its fiscal year.
This rule is based on legislation passed by the US Congress that specifically mentions the use of the open, freely-available XBRL data format for better transparency and accountability in the capital markets.
IMA Supports XBRL as Solution to Bringing Transparency and Accountability to the US Government and Capital Markets as in one of the founding members of the XBRL Consortium.
Stay tuned for additional news as both the capital markets and governments around the world continue to build-out the use of XBRL for enhanced transparency and accountability of critical data fundamental to the interests of citizens around the world in make important financial decisions.