From 1 January 2020, issuers on EU regulated markets falling under the scope of the Transparency Directive, will have to prepare annual financial reports in accordance with the new European Single Electronic Format (ESEF).
EU-regulated listed companies who are subject to the obligation to disclose their annual financial report under the Transparency Directive will have to file their financial statements in the new European Single Electronic Format (ESEF).
The ESEF stems from Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/815 of 17 December 2018 supplementing the Transparency Directive 2004/109/EC.
The ESEF will apply to annual financial reports containing financial statements for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2020.
More specifically, financial reports will have to be filed in XHTML format. This format is human-readable and can be opened with any web browser, thereby ensuring full transparency for investors.
Furthermore, if the issuer files IFRS consolidated financial statements, Inline XBRL technology should be embedded in the XHTML, allowing the financial information to be readable to the human eye, while at the same time being structured and machine-readable.
The LuxSE’s Financial Instruments Reporting Services Tool (FIRST) will allow for the submission of XHTML format files or a ZIP containing at least one XHTML format file.
For more information, please consult the following page on the LuxSE’s website: https://www.bourse.lu/european-single-electronic-format
