One year into a pilot program promoting easy-to-search electronic filings, the
The SEC plans to host these roundtable discussions at its Washington headquarters throughout 2006, with the first scheduled for June 12. Investors, issuers, analysts, auditors, regulators, issuers and technology professionals will all be invited to participate and offer feedback.
"It is now within our reach to get dramatically more useful information in the hands of investors," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, a proponent of expanding the use of technology within in the federal regulatory agency.
About 12 companies volunteered to participate in the XBRL program last year. The interactive filings allow investors to easily break out discreet data, such as executive pay, mutual fund expenses, or net income, rather than to sift through the lengthy documents, which are now continuous pages.
"We look forward to these discussions on implementing interactive data initiatives that can benefit investors as quickly as possible," said Cox.
Hearing from those who already use the program, Cox said, will help the SEC fine-tune delivery, focusing on what is most useful. Once investors and analysts see how useful it can be, the program will probably accelerate, he said.
The SEC is currently accepting comments on the program to be included in the public record. Comments can be submitted online at
Public comments will be posted at
"We welcome the opportunity to learn from investors and other users of financial information how the SEC can improve our own disclosure program," Cox said.
