With the recent news that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a feedback statement setting out the use of Inline XBRL as the digital format which public companies in the European Union (EU) must use to report their company information to investors worldwide from January 1, 2020
The International Organization of Securities Organizations (IOSCO) issued a press release today stating that securities regulators from growth and emerging markets are seeking public feedback on proposed recommendations related to the development of sustainable finance in capital markets and the role of securities regulators in this area. The question is – will the largest capital markets regulator in the world – the United States Securities and Exchange Commission support the disclosure of sustainability data by public companies and create guidance and suggestions of frameworks that can be used to assist US Investors
Many finance teams in the US are looking to other countries where securities regulators have mandated non-financial disclosure for direction such as in the EU, Japan and other Asian countries
We will need to start now as we move into the future of digital reporting and assurance of data that will be required by the management accountant... The European Securities & Markets Authority (ESMA) has mandated that approximately 14,500 public companies must use Inline XBRL and tag their primary financial statements by 2020 and submit them in Inline XBRL. Alain Deckers, with the EU Commission said the EU Commission will mandate assurance on XBRL data reported by companies because these specific data elements can be extracted and used by the capital markets for other reports
What’s exciting according to the Accounting Today article is that XBRL is now mandated by more than 100 securities, banking and tax authorities in more than 70 countries around the world for better regulatory and risk management
The macro trend that we see at the moment is one that we have been waiting quite a long time for, and that is really that the securities regulators are beginning to come in a new wave.”