“The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a program aimed at making it easier for investors to dig through and compare company financial filings. Under the program being tested, financial data the companies report will be organized into structured sets that the public can then download in bulk. The program will be expanded next year to include data in footnotes of the financial statements. The structured data are currently available as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) exhibits. The SEC will now make the information available in other formats. Data sets will be updated quarterly.”

• See also SEC moves to ease access to financial statement data