Learn more about who should file their annual financial reports in ESEF, the reporting format mandated by ESMA in EU. Need ESEF reporting services? Try us.

Who should submit financial statements in ESEF (xHTML / iXBRL) format with ESMA?

Applicability of filing annual financial statements in ESEF format with ESMA

Who are covered by the ESEF reporting requirements?

Any company, regardless of whether their registered office is in the EU or in a third country, with securities (includes both shares and bonds) listed on a regulated UK or European exchange will be required to conform to ESEF and file its annual financial report (AFR) in XHTML Additionally, if the entity prepares IFRS consolidated financial statements then it is required to tag the primary financial statements in accordance with the IFRS taxonomy using iXBRL format which is global open source electronic data reporting format.

As a result, for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2020, the EU (European Union) will require those companies which have their securities traded on any financial markets in the EU, or within the wider EEA (European Economic Area comprises all EU members with the addition of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) to publish their annual financial reports in the European Single Electronic Format.

Who are not covered by the ESEF reporting requirements?

Currently, the ESEF impacts only the main-market-listed companies and does not cover the alternative- investment-markets (AIM) listed companies.

Additionally, the ESEF XBRL requirement currently applies only to IFRS consolidated financial statements, and it does not apply to parent companies’ separate financial statements. The ESEF XHTML and XBRL requirements do not apply to management or half-yearly reports.