ARTICLE
19 October 2015

Transparency Directive: The European Securities And Markets Authority ("ESMA") Consultation On European Single Electronic Format

AO
A&O Shearman

Contributor

A&O Shearman was formed in 2024 via the merger of two historic firms, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. With nearly 4,000 lawyers globally, we are equally fluent in English law, U.S. law and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets. This combination creates a new kind of law firm, one built to achieve unparalleled outcomes for our clients on their most complex, multijurisdictional matters – everywhere in the world. A firm that advises at the forefront of the forces changing the current of global business and that is unrivalled in its global strength. Our clients benefit from the collective experience of teams who work with many of the world’s most influential companies and institutions, and have a history of precedent-setting innovations. Together our lawyers advise more than a third of NYSE-listed businesses, a fifth of the NASDAQ and a notable proportion of the London Stock Exchange, the Euronext, Euronext Paris and the Tokyo and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
On 25 September 2015, ESMA published a consultation paper on draft Regulatory Technical Standards on the European Single Electronic Format, as required by the Transparency Directive.
European Union Corporate/Commercial Law

On 25 September 2015, ESMA published a consultation paper on draft Regulatory Technical Standards ("RTS") on the European Single Electronic Format, as required by the Transparency Directive.

ESMA considered that some sections of the Annual Financial Reports ("AFR") are not suitable because, in order to have effect and admissibility in court, the document should be in human-readable form. ESMA proposes that the AFR should consist of a dual data format including structured (machine-readable data with embedded coding) and non-structured (human-readable) electronic formats.

ESMA highlights that the adoption of a standardised taxonomy to classify financial information would be very hard to achieve due to the differences in accounting standards across the EU and the problems it creates for narrative reporting.

The consultation will be open until 24 December 2015 and ESMA must submit the draft RTS to the European Commission by 31 December 2016.

The full text paper is available here:

https://www.esma.europa.eu/content/ESMA-Consultation-Paper-ESEF

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More