In a speech, Disclosure in the Digital Age: Time for a New Revolution, SEC commissioner Kara M Stein says that the SEC needs to do more than ask questions in concept releases, it is time for the SEC to lead. Commissioner Stein stated, "It's time to revolutionize our disclosure paradigm. Help us in that endeavor and everyone wins."
The concept release refers to this request for comment by the Securities and Exchange Commission: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIRED BY REGULATION S-K
SUMMARY: The Commission is publishing this concept release to seek public comment on modernizing certain business and financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K. These disclosure requirements serve as the foundation for the business and financial disclosure in registrants' periodic reports. This concept release is part of an initiative by the Division of Corporation Finance to review the disclosure requirements applicable to registrants to consider ways to improve the requirements for the benefit of investors and registrants.
I would encourage you to read commissioner Kara M Stein's speech. Notice her call for a 'revolution' as opposed to an 'evolution'. Commissioner Stein concludes her speech with this call to action:
We need to create a Digital Disclosure Task Force. The Digital Disclosure Task Force should include investors, analysts, academics, companies, and technology experts. Together, we can envision what disclosure should look like in the Digital Age so that we can continue to have the premier capital markets in the world.
Clearly I agree with commissioner Stein. I published my Digital Financial Reporting Manifesto months ago. My document Digital Financial Reporting Principles summarizes five years of poking and prodding XBRL-based public company financial filings to the SEC. I hopes this information can help contribute to making XBRL-based structured digital financial reporting in the US the best in the world.
Don't really understand what structured digital financial reporting is all about? Then read this Conceptual Overview of an XBRL-based, Structured, Digital Financial Report. It will help get you understand what disclosure in the digital age is all about.