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EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) is the automated, online system the SEC provides for the receipt, acceptance, review and dissemination of documents submitted in electronic format from the SEC. The EDGAR site is free to the public for searching and viewing corporate regulatory filings on the web or via File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

The SEC implemented EDGAR to improve efficiency and transparency around corporate filings. All publicly traded companies use EDGAR to submit required, time-sensitive documents to the SEC.

Documents that must be filed via EDGAR include annual and quarterly statements, tender offers, information regarding institutional investors’ holdings, Schedule 13D and other key filings, many of which are the most important to investors and analysts. Except in the case of investment companies, actual annual reports to shareholders don’t need to be submitted on EDGAR, although some companies do so voluntarily.

Filers must submit various official EDGAR filings in Interactive Data format, using Inline XBRL (iXBRL). EDGAR was phased into use over a three-year period ending May 6, 1996. Consequently, filings from that date and earlier may not be included in the system due to a hardship exemption made for hardcopy paper filings. For support and additional information, explore our SEC reporting solutions.

GAAP is an acronym for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the standard accounting recording and reporting procedures used to compile financial statements to meet U.S. industry standards and regulations. The US GAAP taxonomy aims to ensure consistency in financial reporting so that investors can better assess financial statements for investment purposes.

Through complex guidelines, GAAP sets out rules covering the fine details of financial statements, from balance sheet classification to revenue recognition. These guidelines are codified in the GAAP Taxonomy Architecture, which serves as the basis for XBRL.

Some financial accounting inconsistencies remain, however. Although U.S. companies follow GAAP rules, other countries apply London-based International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This gap in standards affects global business practices, from accounting to stock market valuations.

Efforts are currently underway by the SEC to adopt IFRS standards and resolve conflicts and confusion in international financial reporting in cooperation with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). For support and additional information, explore our SEC reporting solutions.

The IFRS Taxonomy is a list of elements, and their relationships, which reflect the presentation and disclosure requirements of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). These elements, or tags, are used to mark-up IFRS financial statements so they can be communicated in a standardized, computer-readable format. For investment or insurance companies, or corporations, the requirements are different but the importance is high for each.

IFRS is a set of accounting principles initially outlined to harmonize EU practices. IFRS has become a de facto global accounting standard. Since 2001, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has taken responsibility for codifying and developing IFRS principles to achieve the harmonization necessary to support global financial reporting.

The IASB also develops and maintains the IFRS Taxonomy, which is similar to a dictionary of financial reporting items. By selecting tags from the IFRS Taxonomy which match the related disclosures in the company’s IFRS financial statements, the company is able to prepare computer-readable financial statements in an XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) format, which is required by various regulators. For support and additional information, explore our corporate compliance solutions.