| Author: | Xu, Xin |
| Title: | Do machine-readable disclosures facilitate regulatory scrutiny? Evidence from SEC comment letters |
| Advisors: | Wu, Qiang (AF) |
| Degree: | M.Phil. |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Subject: | Auditing -- United States -- Data processing Electronic data processing Financial statements -- Data processing XBRL (Document markup language) Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | School of Accounting and Finance |
| Pages: | 53 pages |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether machine-readable disclosures facilitate Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) scrutiny. Using firms’ mandatory adoption of Inline XBRL (iXBRL), which significantly increases the machine readability of firms’ financial reports, I find that the SEC is more likely to issue comment letters to firms mandated to adopt iXBRL compared to those not mandated following the adoption. Such an increase is greater when the SEC is in its busy season and under high workload pressure, suggesting that machine-readable filings improve the SEC’s reviewing efficiency. Furthermore, I find that the comment letters sent to adoption firms cover more topics and that the SEC spends less time responding compared to those sent to non-adoption firms after the mandate. Collectively, my findings provide evidence that machine-readable disclosures enhance the SEC’s efficiency in reviewing mandatory filings and facilitate regulatory scrutiny activities. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
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