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What is ESEF?

From 2020, issuers on EU regulated markets are required to prepare their IFRS annual financial reporting in a European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) according to the XBRL format. Deloitte can provide insights in financial and non-financial reporting, processes, technology and organisation.

ESEF Policy Disclosure

The European Single Electronic Format is the electronic reporting format in which issuers on EU regulated markets shall prepare their annual financial reports from 1 January 2020.

In 2013 the Transparency Directive, which sets rules on harmonisation of transparency requirements of issuers, was amended to include, amongst others, a requirement for issuers to prepare their annual financial reports (AFRs) in a single electronic reporting format.The European Securities and Markets Authority ESMA was assigned the responsibility to develop regulatory technical standards (RTS) to specify this electronic reporting format.

The objectives of the provision are to make reporting easier for issuers and to facilitate accessibility, analysis and comparability of annual financial reports. ESMA concluded that the most appropriate technology to meet this requirement is Inline XBRL.

ESMA requires financial information to be structured according to the ESEF taxonomy, which is an extension of the IFRS requirements for information tagging. By structuring financial information in a standardised way, reports will be more understandable, accessible and comparable.

Once endorsed by the European Union, issuers will be required to prepare their annual financial report in a single electronic reporting format from 1 January 2020 onwards.

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