ESEF, the European Single Electronic Format, is how issuers on EU regulated markets publish annual financial reports. The report is an XHTML page that opens in a browser. Where it holds IFRS consolidated statements, they are tagged in Inline XBRL against the ESEF taxonomy, an extension of the IFRS Accounting Taxonomy. ESMA publishes the regulatory technical standards and reporting manual. Klarbon support is planned, not available yet.
What is in an ESEF report?
| Part | Holds |
|---|---|
| XHTML report | the full annual financial report, readable in a browser |
| Detailed tags | primary statements: financial position, profit or loss and other comprehensive income, changes in equity, cash flows |
| Block tags | notes and accounting policies, tagged as larger pieces of text, since 1 January 2022 |
| Taxonomy files | the ESEF taxonomy published by ESMA, which the tags refer to |
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Transparency Directive 2004/109/EC, amended in 2013 |
| Rules | ESMA regulatory technical standards on ESEF, amended yearly |
| Tagging | Inline XBRL 1.1 |
| Taxonomy | ESEF taxonomy, based on the IFRS Accounting Taxonomy |
| Guidance | ESMA ESEF reporting manual, updated yearly since 2019 |
ESMA describes the requirement, the taxonomy and the reporting manual (ESMA). XBRL International publishes Inline XBRL and the report package format (Inline XBRL, report packages).
ESEF or plain XBRL?
| ESEF | XBRL instance | |
|---|---|---|
| File | XHTML with Inline XBRL | XML |
| Readable by people | yes | no |
| Who files | issuers on EU regulated markets | depends on the regulator |
| Taxonomy | ESEF, from IFRS | set by each regulator |
What does Klarbon do with ESEF?
Opening an ESEF package and listing its tagged facts is planned in Klarbon, not available yet. Klarbon does not prepare or file annual reports. Klarbon works with invoices and bank statements; see the invoice viewer.
Related
Frequently asked questions
What is ESEF?
The European Single Electronic Format, the format in which issuers with securities on EU regulated markets prepare their annual financial reports. It comes from the Transparency Directive, and ESMA sets the details in regulatory technical standards.
What has to be tagged in ESEF?
Where the report contains IFRS consolidated financial statements, the primary statements are tagged in detail, and since 1 January 2022 the notes are tagged in blocks of text. The tags come from the ESEF taxonomy, an extension of the IFRS Accounting Taxonomy.
Does a small business need ESEF?
Not unless its securities are traded on an EU regulated market. ESEF applies to issuers that must publish annual financial reports under the Transparency Directive.
How often does the ESEF taxonomy change?
Use the taxonomy release permitted for your reporting period. ESMA publishes the applicable regulatory technical standards and reporting manual; the IFRS Foundation publishes annual Accounting Taxonomy updates.
Sources
- ESMA, electronic reporting esma.europa.eu
- XBRL International, Inline XBRL Part 1 1.1 xbrl.org
- XBRL International, understanding report packages xbrl.org