SEC staff recently released observations regarding registrants’ use of custom axis elements (or custom dimensions) in XBRL reports. The results of their analysis showed that while the overall use of custom axis elements has been declining since 2013, over half of all filers continue to use one or more custom axis elements in their annual reports.

On March 7, the Securities and Exchange Commission updated EDGAR to accept the US GAAP 2016 taxonomy among other new taxonomies. While this taxonomy should not be used for reports with a reporting period that ends before March 7, 2015, it’s a good idea to transition your SEC filings as soon as possible for reporting periods that end after March 7.

When the SEC moved their XBRL Viewer software to Python, the underlying architecture of the application changed significantly and now requires a bit more set up to get the software up and running. If you use GoFiler Complete or GoXBRL, our development team has integrated a script into our software to automatically install the XBRL Viewer for you. If you want to know how to install the XBRL Viewer on your own, read on.

The SEC’s changes to Form N-MFP will take effect on April 14, 2016. After this date, filers will need to submit new Form N-MFP1, which contains additional fields and has some other minor changes.

On February 9, 2016, SEC staff released a guide for issuers of Asset-Backed Securities to help issuers understand the procedures for using EDGAR. The guide answers questions about filing a 424H prospectus, filing Form ABS-15G, and filing other forms that may be an initial filing for an ABS issuing entity.

Congressman Kevin Cramer announced yesterday that the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1675, the Capital Markets Improvement Act of 2016. H.R. 1675 provides for various reforms related to financial services in an attempt to alleviate the burdens on employers (particularly small businesses) by repealing and/or amending outdated SEC regulations.

As Novaworks has released new versions our software throughout the years, our support team frequently are asked about the Office of Management and Budget (or “OMB”) date that appears on the proof for certain forms. This OMB information changes periodically, and, while it isn’t filed to EDGAR with your form data, it has raised questions from filers about what the OMB information is and why it doesn’t always appear up to date.

On January 25, 2016, EDGAR 16.0.1 was released by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This release
contained new EDGAR forms and some minor updates to the specification for Form N-MFP1.

In December, the SEC proposed new rules that would allow registered investment companies, including mutual funds, and business development companies to engage in derivative transactions, provided such companies meet certain conditions. The increased growth and complexity of derivatives markets and the increased use of derivatives by certain funds has caused the SEC to review the current regulations for derivatives in the Investment Company Act.

The Section 16 EDGAR forms are fairly straightforward for filers and preparers, but sometimes you can run into something a little out of the ordinary and have questions about how to file it. We’ve compiled a list of the five most common questions our support team is asked about Section 16 to help you confidently prepare the more unusual Section 16 filings.

A new “end of life” upgrade notification will be delivered to Windows users by Microsoft on January 12, 2016. This upgrade notification will inform users that technical support and security updates for Internet Explorer will only be available for the most current version of Internet Explorer for each supported operating system.

The SEC has recently re-proposed Rule 13q-1 and an amendment to EDGAR Form SD to require the disclosure of payments made to governments by resource extraction issuers. Rule 13q-1 was previously adopted by the SEC in August of 2012 but was vacated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after being challenged by the American Petroleum Institute (“API”), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and two other industry groups. Recently, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an order holding that the SEC unlawfully withheld agency action by not promulgating a final rule. Subsequently, the SEC filed an expedited schedule for promulgating the final rule, re-proposed Rule 13q-1 in SEC Release No 34-77620, and would vote on the adoption of a final rule in June 2016.

On December 14, 2015, EDGAR 15.4 was released by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This release contained new EDGAR forms and changes to the EDGAR Filer Manual that detail how the SEC chooses to render XBRL reports.

With the release of EDGAR 15.4, filers will be able to file Part III of Form X-17A-5 electronically. Form X-17A-5 contains information required of broker-dealers pursuant to Section 17 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

With its recent adoption of Regulation Crowdfunding, the SEC has decided to propose changes to other exempt offerings in an effort to modernize them. Crowdfunding is poised to change the way that small businesses raise capital, and the SEC is seeking to increase the utility of existing rules and facilitate capital formation by smaller companies.