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  ESEF / XBRL transmission

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What you need to know

Issuers whose securities are traded on regulated markets in the EU will have to publish their annual financial reports (AFR) in a single European electronic format (ESEF). This obligation is imposed on all issuers subject to the requirements of the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC as revised by Directive 2013/50/EU) and applies to annual financial statements opened on or after 1 January 2020. In concrete terms, from 2021 onwards, all annual financial reports will have to be prepared in the new single European electronic format XHTML.



The single European electronic format (ESEF) applies to all issuers (shares and bonds) subject to the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC revised by Directive 2013/50/EU).

  • The annual financial reports (AFR) in the sense of the Transparency Directive and the universal registration documents (URD) that serve as annual financial reports must be in XHTML format;
  • The IFRS consolidated financial statements contained in these AFRs or URDs will need to be tagged with XBRL tags that will need to be embedded in the XHTML document using Inline XBRL technology;
  • In case of a link to another document (which would not be part of the RFA or URD), this one does not need to be in XHTML format;
  • Semi-annual financial reports (RFS) and IPO prospectuses are not subject to this new requirement.

Yes, absolutely, we will remain your point of entry for documents requiring transmission to the regulator.

Absolutely, if you have our so-called broadcasting service, the files you publish on our broadcasting platform will automatically display on your website without any further manipulation on your part.

Let's remember that:

  • This system operates 24/7 and 365 days a year;
  • each PDF, ZIP or HTML displayed on your site has been previously scanned by an antivirus;
  • each PDF, ZIP hosted on our servers is managed by us;
  • each publication posted on your site has a unique security fingerprint SECURITY MASTER Footprint.

These press releases are not subject to this new requirement. The rules applicable to these press releases remain in force and companies will have to continue to indicate the status of their financial statements with respect to the certification process by the statutory auditors.

In a series of questions and answers, the European Commission recalled on May 29, 2019 the major objectives that preside over the establishment of the ESEF:

  • Reflect the will of the European Parliament and the Council to establish a single structured electronic format for the European Union's annual financial reports;
  • Improve the accessibility, ease of analysis and comparability of the consolidated financial statements included in the annual financial reports;
  • To allow analysts and investors to make better use of the information communicated by companies;
  • Strengthen the transparency of the European Union's capital markets.

For this purpose, a unique format was decided upon, namely the Inline XBRL or iXBRL, which allows for the online display of documents.

The ESEF taxonomy is the framework that companies will need to use to tag their financial statements. It is based on the IFRS taxonomy, updated annually by the IFRS Foundation, which includes the information required by the standards, the information given in the application guides and examples as well as current practices.

The ESEF taxonomy is included in the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) that is approved annually by the European Commission. It is translated into all the languages of the European Union.

The ESEF taxonomy is based on the IFRS taxonomy.

The ESEF taxonomy is based on the IFRS taxonomy.

The IFRS taxonomy is online at the IFRS Foundation which, being available in Excel format, makes mapping work more easily achievable.

The procedures for filing annual financial reports with the AMF will be updated to reflect the new requirements of the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS). These upcoming changes will have no impact on the filing deadlines. The AMF will also continue to transmit the annual financial reports to the French OAM (DILA).

Actusnews has concluded an agreement with a French publisher who will be able to support you.
Do not hesitate to contact us.

DILA : Direction de l'Information Légale et Administrative

ESEF : European Single Electronic Format

ESMA : European Securities and Markets Authority

iXBRL : Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language

OAM : Officially Appointed Mechanism

RTS : Regulatory Technical Standards

URD : Universal Registration Document

XHTML : eXtensible HyperText Markup Language

XML : eXtensible Markup Language

XSD : XML Schema Definition

Website of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF)

File 29 January 2020
The Single European Electronic Format (SEF) for annual financial reports
https://www.amf-france.org/fr/actualites-publications/dossiers-thematiques/esef

File 29 January 2020
ESEF - Your Frequently Asked Questions
https://www.amf-france.org/fr/esef-vos-questions-frequentes

 

Website of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
https://www.esma.europa.eu/policy-activities/corporate-disclosure/european-single-electronic-format

The European Securities and Markets Authority publishes several video tutorials:

Introduction to the ESEF Technical Regulatory Standard



How to prepare a document with the Inline XBRL standard



10 frequently asked questions