Sixth ruleset from the XBRL US Data Quality Committee approved

The XBRL US Data Quality Committee (DQC) recently released its sixth ruleset regarding SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filings that use either the IFRS or US GAAP taxonomies. Here are some of the key highlights of the ruleset.

What’s in the sixth ruleset?

The ruleset provides a number of validation checks for filings following the two taxonomies.

For IFRS, there are rules that help identify errors that may occur with incorrect dates, axes, and reversed calculation, among other items. Given the recent SEC announcement that foreign private issuers (FPIs) can use the IFRS taxonomy when filing their financial statements in XBRL, the ruleset should prove especially useful to FPIs.

Additionally, the rules have been updated for US GAAP filings as well, including rules around negative value errors that align with the recent introduction of the SEC Reporting Taxonomy (SRT).

When does the ruleset come into effect?

Back in March, the DQC launched its public review period for the sixth ruleset. This review period ended early in May, with approval granted towards the end of the month.

As such, the sixth ruleset has an effective date of 29 June 2018. This means that issuers should use the ruleset from that date onwards when it concerns any information they have to file with the SEC.

However, if an issuer wished to begin using the ruleset immediately, then can do just that with no problem at all.

How can I access the ruleset?

The ruleset can be accessed through an XBRL software or service vendor, provided that the vendor has been approved by the DQC to have included the rules within their solution.

There are also other ways to access the rules – for example, by using the checker from XBRL US – but you would need an account on XBRL US in order to be able to use the service.

Should an error be identified by the rules, you receive detailed information as to the nature of the error, and how it can be resolved.

Regardless of how you access the ruleset, it’s worth noting that the rules are free to view and use, and are available to the public at large. This highlights the DQC’s focus on data quality, as well as its desire to develop guidance that can identify and rectify any errors that may arise in the filings of issuers.

What is the XBRL US Data Quality Committee?

The DQC is supported and funded by the Center for Data Quality, and seeks to ensure consistency in the usability and quality of XBRL data that is filed with the SEC.

To that effect, the DQC creates guidance and rules that help identify potential errors in XBRL data filed with the SEC – the sixth ruleset being one such example.

DataTracks is a member of the US Center for Data Quality and is experienced in providing XBRL tagging services as well as preparing regulatory filings for the SEC. If you have any questions about the sixth ruleset and its release, reach out to us at enquiry@datatracks.com. We’d love to help you out!