Well prepared for implementation: An ESEF view from Sweden
As the first financial reports produced using the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) are filed across Europe, we’ve been taking a little tour of the continent to find out how early implementation is unfolding – and this week we’re in Sweden.
The country’s first ESEF report was filed in February by one of its major banks, Swedbank, with more trickling in. As in numerous other European countries, including the other Nordics, mandatory ESEF reporting has been postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, companies are taking the option to deploy ESEF voluntarily.
“Since the option to postpone came out quite late, most companies were actually quite well prepared for filing thanks to the work they’d done with help from software vendors, accounting specialists and auditors,” explains Björn Rydberg, Chair of XBRL Sweden, Associate Partner at EY, and senior member of the Swedish accounting profession. He believes that audit and review activities during 2021 will be useful in further smoothing the way for mandatory filings in 2022.
And how has his experience of implementation been? “From my perspective all the global connections are quite energising, and one of the benefits of belonging to the XBRL family.” That’s great to hear, and we at XBRL International will be continuing to support ongoing ESEF implementation and innovation.
Are you involved in ESEF implementation? If you’d like to share your experience, please send a note to editor@xbrl.org.
